


Unhinged

by FireSlash



Series: Alternate Versions of Hope [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, F/M, One Cannon Path with two possible AU ones, Possible Kaede/Shuichi, Possible Miu/Shuichi, Possible Tenko/Shuichi, Vigilante Shuichi Saihara
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2018-08-15
Packaged: 2019-02-23 09:19:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 21,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13187061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireSlash/pseuds/FireSlash
Summary: (Vigilante Shuichi AU). The Shuichi Saihara we all know and love is a rather average individual compared to his classmates. But what if that wasn't the case? What if in addition to being the ultimate detective, Shuichi also happens to be a cheeky vigilante who kills those he sees as villains? Will he still be able to stop the killing game? Or will his recklessness get him killed?





	1. Chapter 1 Part 1: The Beginning of a Legend

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone, FireSlash here and welcome to my brand new story, 'Unhinged.' A little about this story; Shuichi Saihara's personality has been altered in a way that makes him stand out compared to his normal incarnation. The story will evolve around this change, meaning things will be different this time around. Think of this as another 'Soldier of Hope.' As for pairings go, I definitely have an idea as to who I want to pair Shuichi with. I'm currently debating between three girls (they'll be obvious as you read this chapter). Let me know who you want me to pair him with among the three. Anyways, I hope you review and enjoy :-).

Hey there, the name's Shuichi Saihara and I'm the hero of this fucked up story. Yeah, I can already tell what you're thinking; how the hell did we get lucky enough to have this unbelievably sexy beast as our main protagonist? Well I don't have the answers for you now, but I'll find them soon enough. I'm not known as the ultimate detective just because I can hold a magnifying glass. Moving on... while I'm sure you'd love to hear my alluring voice forever, I do believe we must part ways for now. After all, if I continued to speak, we would never get to the story. So sit back, relax, grab a date, and enjoy. Who knows... you might get some action if you show them this story.

0000

When Kaede Akamatsu fell out of the locker, she didn't expect to be inside a classroom. Then again, she never expected to fall out of a locker in the first place. Glancing all over her body, she was glad to see she wasn't harmed. Her skin was still as silky as ever and her blonde hair was not damaged. Her clothing was fine as well, though her purple skirt and pink vest were a bit dirty. However, she was sure she was missing a few of her hairpins which were shaped as musical notes, but that didn't matter right now.

"Where am I?" Kaede asked herself as she took a closer look at her surroundings. Yes, she was in a classroom, but it looked nothing like her high school. The white boards were all digital, the walls were painted in dark blue, and there were plants growing on the room's walls. It all looked as if it were part of a set made for a futuristic movie. "What's going on?"

After glancing around, Kaede closed her eyes as she attempted to recall the events which had occured before she was put into the locker. Unfortunatly, she couldn't remember anything except for two important details; her title and the fact she had been forcibly shoved into a van by several men.

"Let's see.. I'm the ultimate pianist, but what does that even mean? When did I even get such a title?" It was true Kaede was a gifted pianist who was relativley well known in Japan, but she didn't remember ever being called the ultimate pianist at any point of her life.

Unfortunatly, her thought process was soon interrupted when the locker next to her started shaking, a boy popping out of it a second later. The boy appeared to be about two inches taller than her and was wearing a thin black coat, black dress pants, and black sneakers. He also had a black cap on, but some of his dark blue hair could still be seen. In addition, it was tilted in such a way that it covered his eyes, preventing eye contact from being made.

As the boy began to stir awake, Kaede did what most individuals would do if they randomly woke up in an unknown classroom with a stranger; she screamed.

"Gaaaaah!"

Much to her surprise, the boy didn't scream back like most others would in such a crazy situation. Standing up in a flash, he instead covered his ears with his hands, putting them down once he saw Kaede had finished.

"You done?" The boy asked, rubbing his ears in irritation. "Damn, you scream loud and trust me, I've heard many screams throughout my life. I felt like my eardrums were going to explode."

"Sorry," Kaede replied, letting loose a sigh of relief. At least this boy wasn't emitting any hostility. "You surprised me. Um, who are you?"

"I'm glad you asked," the boy said, his mood quickly swapping from irritation to proudness. "I'm Shuichi Saihara, the world's best junior detective. I'm sure a pretty girl such as yourself has heard of me before."

"N-no, I can't say I have," Kaede said, flustered at the fact someone of the opposite gender called her pretty. Thankfully, she was quick to recompose herself. "I don't really follow the news, sorry."

"Meh, don't sweat it," Shuichi said, brushing off the feeling of disappointment boiling up in him. "Anyways, does the gorgeous lady have a name?"

"H-huh? Oh, I'm Kaede Akamatsu. I'm apparently the ultimate pianist, but I don't recall ever being given that title."

"Hmm…" Shuichi mumbled, rubbing his chin with his hand. "Akamatsu…Akamatsu... your name has a nice ring to it. Tell me something, has anyone ever told you that you have a beautiful name?"

Seeing Kaede shake her head, Shuichi moved on. "No? Well, you do, but that doesn't matter right now. To be honest, I'm more interested in our current situation. A lot of things just don't make any sense. For instance, like you, I have a title myself. I'm the 'ultimate detective' as you can probably tell by now, but I don't remember it ever being official. Let me ask, do you know why we're here?"

"No, I seem to have lost my memory," Kaede said, hanging her head in shame. "All I can remember is that I was forcefully shoved into a van by a group of men."

Seeing the distressed look on the girl's face, Shuichi gently lifted her head up by placing his hand on her left cheek. It was a gesture which caused Kaede to blush profusely, though to Shuichi, the notion seemed to be nothing significant.

"Don't be upset. I've seem to have lost my memory as well," Shuichi said as an attempt to comfort the pianist. He then moved his hand from her cheek and placed it back on his chin. "Perhaps our memory loss and talents are related to why we were kidnapped."

"Kidnapped? Now that I think about it, that's the only logical explanation for the van incident and as to why we're here. So what now? I don't know about you, but I plan on getting out of here. Who knows when our kidnappers will return."

"Yeah, I agree. Let's ditch while we can, but before we do, I have something important to take care of," Shuichi said, surprising Kaede. Why would he want to stay here any longer? "There might be innocent people here and I'd rather go to hell than leave without them."

"Shoot! I forgot about that," Kaede stated, realizing that there could be others who have been captured as well. However, who could blame her for forgetting? It wasn't everyday she was kidnapped and given amnesia. "Well, I'm all for helping them, but we've got to be careful."

Moving forward, Shuichi attempted to open the classroom door and was surprised when he was able to do so with ease.

'They didn't lock the door? Who the hell are we dealing with? What's their game?' the detective mentally asked himself. However, he simply shoved those thoughts to the back of his head. Right now, what matters the most is rescuing all the other captives, if any.

Glancing back at the pianist, the boy gave her a sly smile. "Don't worry, I've been through similar situations before. Well, I've never been a captive, but I still know enough about the art of escaping to get us out of here...hopefully."

Following the boy, Kaede could only give him an uneasy look. "Was that an attempt to encourage me? Because it pretty much did the opposite."

0000

"You know, I'm still a bit groggy, but even I know grass isn't supposed to grow inside buildings," Shuichi told Kaede. Upon exiting the classroom, the two were surprised to see that the interior of the school seemed to resemble some sort of ancient ruins. There were various stone pillars keeping the building from collapsing, the walls were made of what looked to be cobblestone, and there were grass and vines growing all over the place. If Shuichi and Kaede didn't know any better, they'd say the school has been abandoned for a while now. However, they knew there had to be other people around. After all, the point of taking hostages was to keep them alive until something happened. Abandoning them would be pointless. "Damn, it looks like we slept through a nuclear fallout or something."

"I agree that this place isn't pretty, but we shouldn't focus on that right now," Kaede told her companion. "We should be more focused on leaving."

Turning around, Kaede continued her search around the school, only to stop when Shuichi spoke.

"…You're afraid, aren't you?" Shuichi asked the girl. Looking at the detective, she was surprised to see his confident grin had been replaced with a blank, unreadable expression. It seemed almost as if he was analyzing her. "It's written all over your face."

Realizing she had to answer, she responded with a question of her own. "And you're not? We've been kidnapped, given amnesia, and placed into some random school. I don't know about you, but it's impossible for me not to be scared right now."

"Me? I'll have you know that I'm actually pretty fucking terrified myself," Shuichi told her, surprising her yet again. She honestly expected him to act like a tough guy and say 'no.' "But what type of detective would I be if I let my fear consume me? Also, the fact that the whole 'rescuing hostages' thing is familiar to me is helping me keep my cool as well, though I'll admit that having amnesia's kinda new and scary at the same time."

"Well, I can agree with you on the last part," Kaede said, a smile forming on her face. Shuichi's relaxed nature sure was helping the pianist stay calm. However, the fact he's been through other escape missions was making her a bit uneasy though. She had no idea why it bothered her so much; perhaps it made him a little more shady in her eyes?

'Wait, why does Saihara have experience with rescuing hostages? I thought detectives were the ones who find the hostages, not the ones who physically go in and help them...'

"You know, I'm starting to think that there's no one else here besides a few other captives and us," Shuichi informed Kaede, snapping her back to reality.

"Really? What makes you say that?"

"Well Akamatsu, there doesn't seem to be a lot of activity going on other than the two of us walking and talking. By now, we should have had at least a few close calls with the guards or something. Also, the ground lacks footprints of any kind. Actually, there are a few, but they seem to be made by people our age. If I remember correctly, our kidnappers were adult men, meaning these belong to the other captives."

"So what you're saying is we can relax a bit, right?" Kaede asked the boy, wanting to know if she understood him correctly.

Shooting her a grin, Shuichi nodded. "Yep. But we should still be careful. I may be the 'ultimate detective,' but I could still be wrong. Trust me, it's happened before."

With Shuichi taking the lead, the two began tip-toeing around the school, looking for their fellow captives.

0000

"Welp, seems like there's no one on this floor," Shuichi said once he and Kaede had finished exploring the second floor. Surprisingly, there were very few rooms on the floor, the only objects of interest were two bathrooms and a room with piano sticker on its door. There were also two staircases, one leading downwards while one led upwards, but the latter was blocked by a steel gate. In addition, the door with the piano sticker was locked. Both teens had attempted to budge the door open, but to no avail. "Well, at least, except for her."

The detective then pointed to a tall, blue haired girl, someone Kaede didn't realize was here until Shuichi pointed out her existence. The girl was a light skinned individual who was wearing a knee length pleated skirt which was adorned with six white buttons on her waist, an orange bow, black socks ending under the knee, and grey shoes. In addition, she had a blazer on which also had white buttons. Lastly, her skirt seemed to be held up by a pair of suspenders.

"Hey, before we begin searching for way out of here, we should take some time to investigate the school," Shuichi told his partner, confusing her.

"What? Why? Shouldn't we be trying to leave this place as soon as we can?"

"Of course, but look around. There's no one else here besides us and the other captives. And even if we do escape, what if our captors try to kidnap us again? We need to know what we're up against, and the only way to do so is if we snoop around for a bit. Speaking of which, we should start by speak to that girl over there. She might know something we don't."

Glancing at the girl, Kaede realized that Shuichi was right. If they truly wanted to leave this school, then they'll need answers. "Yeah, I guess you're right. We need to be prepared if they do come back. Let's go question her."

Walking up to the girl, Kaede noticed that the girl was dozing off, almost as if she wasn't aware of her status as a captive.

"Hey there, do you mind if we ask you some questions?" Kaede asked the girl as she walked up to her. However, the girl just continued to stare into space, ignoring Kaede. Realizing that she might respond to physical confrontation, Kaede proceeded to poke the girl's cheek, only for that to accomplish nothing as well.

"I'm starting to think she's just a life sized mannequin," Kaede grumbled to Shuichi, causing him to laugh. However, despite the amount of times she ignored any sort of social interaction with Kaede, the boy didn't seem to be deterred from speaking to the mysterious girl like the pianist was.

"Seems like we have a drifter," Shuichi whispered to his companion. "Don't worry, I know how to deal with people like her."

Stepping forward, Shuichi gave Kaede a confident smirk before cupping his mouth with his hands. "Yo sweetheart! I think your skirt's coming loose. I can already see your panties."

"W-what?" The girl asked in a soft yet worried voice. She then looked down at her waist, only to notice that her skirt was perfectly fine, which in turn caused her to pout. "Hey, you tricked me."

"Sorry sweetie, but my cute acquaintance here has some questions she wants to ask you, but you seem to be ignoring her."

Getting over her initial shock after processing what Shuichi had just done, Kaede spoke up. "Yeah, I do. First off, why did you ignore me when I tried to get your attention the first time?"

"Oh, it's because I didn't want to talk," the girl casually replied, causing Kaede to frown at her.

"Isn't that a bit rude?"

"Isn't it rude to talk to someone when they don't want to be bothered?"

"I have an idea, maybe next time you should tell them to fuck off or something if you really don't want to be bothered," Shuichi stated. "It's surprisingly less rude than ignoring someone, not to mention more effective."

"Really? I guess I'll try that next time."

"Please don't," Kaede begged before realizing that she still had a job to do. "But since I have your attention now, can you tell me what you remember about being kidnapped and brought to this school?"

"Sure. Um, I don't remember much except that I was thrown into some sort of car by these strange men. For some reason, I can't seem to remember their faces. Sorry."

Upon hearing this, Kaede frowned. "Oh, it's ok. We don't really remember how we got here either. Do you remember when you got your title? Wait, what is your ultimate talent? In fact, what's your name?"

"My name? Well, I'm Tsumugi Shirogane, the ultimate cosplayer. While I love making costumes, I don't like wearing them. I only do so when a fan base I'm apart of isn't receiving enough recognition. I'm pretty famous, but I don't remember ever being called an ultimate."

"Well, it's nice to meet you," Kaede said with a smile. "I'm Kaede Akamatsu, the ultimate pianist."

"And I'm Shuichi Saihara, the best detective you'll ever meet," Shuichi said.

"Oh, well it's nice to meet you. Um, is there anything else you want to ask me?"

"No, I think we've covered everything," Kaede told her. "Thank you for your time Shirogane."

"No problem," Tsumugi replied, only to go back into dreamland a second later.

"Wow, that girl sure is something," Kaede stated before focusing on his companion. "Should we head downstairs now?"

"I don't see why not," Shuichi answered. "There's nothing else for us to do up here anyways, unless you want to start tearing this place apart for clues. For now, I think we should just find everyone and ask them what they know first before we do any hardcore investigating."

"Alright, I'm going to trust that you know what you're doing."

The two then made their way to the unlocked staircase, curious to see who else they'll meet.

0000

"…Have any idea about what's going on?" Shuichi asked his companion.

Looking at the scene, Kaede could only shake her head. "I have no idea…"

After making their way to the first floor, the two decided to investigate a nearby classroom first, only to be greeted with the bizarre scene of two boys running around, one clearly chasing the other. The chaser was a short, light skinned individual with purple hair that reached down to his shoulders. He was currently wearing a white suit with multiple straps wrapped around his arms and legs. In addition, he had a black and white checker patterned scarf wrapped around his neck.

The boy being chased was slightly taller than his companion. He had silver hair and a boomerang shaped ahoge on the center of his head. However, that wasn't even the strangest thing about him. Upon closer inspection, the two realized he was a robot, for his body was made entirely out of metal and his eyes appeared to be two small screens.

"Please leave me alone," the robot begged the boy. However, this only encouraged his pursuer to continue the chase.

"Oh come on. I'm just asking you some questions. Please stay still.~"

"Uh, are we interrupting something important here?" Kaede asked, causing the two boys to turn towards the pair. Letting out a sigh of relief, the robot responded while the other boy simply glared at the pianist for ruining his fun.

"Definitely not. Oruma here was just asking me a few… rather disturbing questions about my status as a robot. I see you're a bit confused, so allow me to introduce myself. I am K1-B0, the ultimate robot. However, please just call me Keebo. I am the finest creation of Professor Idabashi, the leading authority in the field of robotics. The professor has raised me as if I was his own child, helping my AI develop from an infant mindset to that of an adolescent. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Well, that's certainly interesting," Kaede said, giving the robot a smile. "I'm Kaede Akamatsu, the ultimate pianist."

"And I'm Shuichi Saihara, the greatest detective to have ever lived," the detective introduced himself before turning to the other boy. "And who are you?"

"Me? Are you sure you want to know?" The boy playfully asked. "I'm Kokichi Oruma, the ultimate supreme leader. I pretty much own an evil secret organization with over ten-thousand members. What's the name of the group you ask? Well, I can't tell you that silly. Otherwise it would ruin the whole purpose of the society being a secret.~"

Upon hearing this, Shuichi and Kaede briefly glanced at one another, wondering if Kokichi was telling the truth. To Kaede, his talent seemed a bit too farfetched to actually be true. As for Shuichi, while he also doubted the truthfulness of Kokichi's story, he made a mental note to keep an eye on the shorter boy. If he so happened to be telling the truth, then Kokichi might actually prove to be a problem in the future.

'If he's claiming such a bizarre thing so freely, then he might actually be the villain he says he is. I guess I'll have to wait a bit before I can officially add him to 'the list.' Yet, I've never heard of such a group before, so what he's saying is most likely just some random bullshit. Meh, I could care less about him right now. After all, our current situation needs way more attention right now than some lying gremlin...'

Soon realizing that the two boys could have some valuable information about their predicament, Shuichi cleared his throat before he started to do his job as a detective. "Do you two mind if I ask you a few questions?"

Thankfully, the boys in question seemed willing to cooperate with the young detective, allowing themselves to be interviewed.

"Of course not, as long as they're appropriate in nature."

"Eh, I could care less."

"Good. First off, do any of you remember anything about how you arrived here?"

Putting his hand on his chin, K1-B0 began to think, only to shake his head a second later. "I am unable to accurately recall specific details about our sudden kidnapping, sorry. However, I do remember being thrown into a van by some shady individuals."

"Really? The same thing happened to us," Kaede informed the robot, Shuichi nodding in conformation. The detective then set his sights on the supposed 'supreme overlord.'

"I'm guessing the same thing also happened to you?"

Kokichi's eyes began sparkling in response. "Wow! How did you know? You must actually be as good as you say you are …"

"Don't fucking sass me boy," Shuichi growled, not liking the fact that Kokichi was mocking him. "Er, let's just move on. Second question, were you ever referenced by your ultimate title at any point of your lives before today?"

"I can't say I have."

"I have, but only by my underlings of course."

"Well, it looks like they're just as lost as us," Kaede said once Shuichi finished his game of twenty questions, children's addition.

"It seems like you're right. I guess we'll just have to question someone else and hope they have some answers," Shuichi replied before turning towards the two boys. "Thanks for allowing me to waste some of your time, but it looks like it's time for me to harass someone else now. I'll let you know if something important comes up. See ya!"

As the detective and pianist began to leave, Kokichi immediately gripped their wrists, grabbing their attention. "Wait! There's still one question that needs to be answered."

"Huh, what is it?" Kaede asked. Turning to K1-B0, the supreme overlord gave him a sinister stare.

"Do robots have dicks?"

"Really, you're wasting our time on that?"

"Now Akamatsu, believe it or not, this is actually an important question," Shuichi told her, causing the pianist's mouth to drop. Was he really supporting such childish antics? "Granted, it's completely unrelated to our actual problem, but c'mon, aren't you at least a bit curious?"

"Yeah, I'll pass. Just look how uncomfortable you're making Keebo."

Looking at the robot, everyone could tell he was mildly disturbed. "W-why would you ask such a thing?"

"'Cause Astro Boy, I need to know how far science has truly advanced and what better time to find out than now. I mean, I am speaking to the ultimate robot after all. Now tell me, are there any female robots? Do they vibrate? Please tell me vibrating robot girls exist."

"And this is where I step in and end the conversation," Kaede stated, grabbing Shuichi's wrist and leading him towards the door. Embarrassed, Kaede couldn't even look him in the eyes. Well, it was more like she couldn't look at his face seeing as his cap was still preventing anyone from making eye contact with him.

"What? I have needs you know," the detective informed her in a mockingly sheepish voice. This only caused the girl to try to shove him out of the room faster.

"Don't worry Saihara, I'll try to get an answer to your question," Kokichi called out to Shuichi before he could fully exit the room. "Nishishishi,~ I have to admit that I'm curious as well."

In response, Shuichi shot the two one of his signature smirks. "Thanks. Since the lovely lady here currently desires my company, I'll leave you alone for now Keebo. But don't think this is over, because trust me, I will get an answer out of you for I am the ultimate detective, and as such, a master of interrogation. I'll see you soon.~"

Watching Shuichi and Kaede leave the door while simultaneously noticing the hungry expression Kokichi was giving him, K1-B0 took a step back in fear. "What did I do to deserve this?!"

0000

Exiting the classroom, the two acquaintances attempted to continue their investigation, only to hit a road block a few seconds later. Separating them from the rest of the hallway was an iron gate similar to the one blocking the staircase leading to the third floor. This reasonably began to discourage Kaede a bit.

"Another one? Are we seriously trapped right now?"

Glancing at the gate, Shuichi noticed that it looked a bit different than the other gates they've encountered. Not only does it look a bit more rusty, but it seemed to have been recently used judging by some skid-marks on the ground. Walking up to it, the detective began gripping the part of the gate where the skid-marks began before yanking it open.

"Ta-da!" Shuichi said as he outlined the opened gate with some jazz hands. "Now we can get through."

"…ok then," Kaede said before the two walked ahead. Looking around, the two soon found themselves in what appeared to be the school main entrance. However, what really caught their attention was the tall boy standing in front of the school's main door. The boy was a tall and slim individual who had rather pale skin and long blackish blue hair. His attire currently consisted dark green military-style uniform, matching knee-high black boots, a dark green cap, and a black mask covering the bottom portion of his face. As the two acquaintances moved closer to him, they noticed that his eyes were closed, signaling that he was deep in thought.

"So Kaede, want to do the honors?" Shuichi asked the girl. "You're quite good at introducing us."

"Sure," Kaede responded as she approached the boy. She then tapped the boy on the shoulder, introducing herself once he turned around.

"Hey, sorry to bother you but I wanted to introduce myself," Kaede told him, only to get no response from the boy. However, the fact his eyes seemed to be analyzing her was enough to tell Kaede that he was listening. "I'm Kaede Akamatsu, the ultimate pianist. Next to me is Shuichi Saihara."

Shuichi lazily waved at the boy. "Sup. Mind if we ask you some questions?"

"…Not at all," the boy softly replied, creeping out the two investigators.

"Alright then…first question; who the hell are you?"

Hugging himself, the boy began to calmly introduce himself. "You wonder, 'Who is this?' Yes... I shall make that clear first. My name is Korekiyo Shinguji... and I am called the Ultimate Anthropologist."

"Alrighty then…" Shuichi shivered. This guy was seriously starting to creep him out. Looking at Kaede, he could see he wasn't alone. However, he still had a job to do, meaning that he can't allow himself to be discouraged. "Second question, what the hell is an anthropologist?"

"The field of anthropology studies human customs legends, folk tales, songs, and much more," Korekiro informed them. "There may even be customs in your daily life, the origins of which you do not know. For example... certain aspects of birthday or new year celebrations. Anthropology sheds light on traditions and customs such as these through rigorous analysis. It is a study that examines the thought behind culture, faith, and customs."

"You know, that actually sounds pretty cool," Kaede replied once he finished his explanation. Upon listening to him speak about his passion, Kaede started to see him not as a creep, bit as an extremely intelligent individual.

Nodding his head, Korekiro began to smile at them, despite the fact his mouth was covered by his mask. "I appreciate the compliment. As someone who's dedicated their life to studying the evolution of humanity, I believe that human beings are creatures who possess infinite beauty. I find all aspects of humanity, even the ugly parts, to be beautiful. Our present situation is rather... intriguing. What beauty will I be able to witness here? Kehe... Kehehehe... People are wonderful..."

"…And now I'm back to being creeped out," Kaede whispered to Shuichi, who chucked before he continued to question the taller boy.

"You're definitely right in saying that our situation is unique. Would you happen to know anything about how you even go here."

"Hmm, let us see…I remember being shoved into a silver van by individuals I've never met. That is all I can recall at this moment."

"Thanks for your answer. Last question, did you try opening this door already?" Shuichi asked as he pointed towards the front door.

"Indeed I have…"

"Well? Can we leave?" Kaede asked, hope present in her. However, the boy only chucked before responding.

"You should find the answers to such questions on your own...The moment your hopes are shattered...That, too...may be beautiful..."

"Oh great, he's one of those people," Shuichi said to Kaede, rolling his eyes upon hearing the boy's answer. "Listen, before we should even bother checking to see if the door opens, I suggest we continue exploring the school. Remember, it's best to learn about our enemies before we even bother escaping."

"Yeah, you don't need to explain your reasons to me again," Kaede said with a smile before the two continued their investigation. However, Kaede was beginning to doubt that she was doing the right thing. After all, their captors could come back at any moment. Wouldn't it just be better to escape already?

"Not to intrude, but I'm here as well," another boy stated, startling Kaede and Shuichi. He was taller than Shuichi. His eyes were green and he has notably long, thick eyelashes. He was currently wearing a dark blue striped sweater, gray pants and slip-on shoes. "My name is Rantaro Amami. I can't remember my Ultimate talent at the moment... But I promise I'm not a bad guy. Nice to meet you. You don't need to introduce yourselves to me, I've overheard your conversation with Shinguji. My memories of how I got here are the same as his. I'd love to chat more, but I want to do some investigating myself. I'll see you later."

As he walked past the pair, all they could do was stare at him. He was certainly…strange.

"You know, that's the first time anyone's ever been able to sneak up on me," Shuichi said, the only thing he could say about the boy.

0000

After encountering Korekiro, the two teens eventually made their way to a small hallway with three doors. The first door had the image of a fork and a knife pasted on it, telling the two captives that the room was a cafeteria. The second door on the other hand had an image of a money bag, making the room's identity a mystery. Lastly, on the third door was an image of a cardboard box, implying that the room was some sort of storage facility. It should also be noted that there was another staircase in the mini hallway as well leading to the school's basement. Unlike the staircase leading to the third floor, this one was unlocked.

"So, which room do you want explore first Saihara?" Kaede asked the detective. Quickly glancing at the three doors, it didn't take long for Shuichi to make his decision.

"That one," Shuichi replied, pointing at the door with the moneybag image. "We already know what the other two rooms are, but this one's a mystery, even to me. It's obvious this room has something to do with money, but why the hell does a school need a room like this? Is it some sort of bank where students take out loans or something?"

"Probably, but we won't know until we go inside," Kaede said as she grabbed the doorknob. However, when she tried to twist it, it wouldn't budge. "Seriously? This has to be the third thing we've found that's locked."

Frowning, Shuichi took hold of the knob once Kaede finished trying. "Let me give this a shot."

*Rattle* *Rattle* *Rattle*

As hard as he tried, the boy couldn't get the door to budge. "Damnit! I guess we'll have to visit another place for now. How about the cafeteria? We can get something to eat while we investigate."

"You know what? Count me in. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty hungry myself."

0000

"…Okay, what did I just get myself into?" Kaede asked herself as she continued to watch the scene in front of her unfold. When the two entered the cafeteria, the first thing then noticed was that there were two other girls already occupying the area. The first girl had fair skin tone, sharp green eyes, and long black hair styled into two long pigtails. Her hair was being held by long white ribbons and a large green bow with a white floral pattern. She was currently wearing a blue school uniform top that stops above her bellybutton, a frilly blue skirt, white socks with a blue stripe that ends under the knee, and a pair of zōri. The second girl had pale skin, as well as chin-length red hair. She was currently wearing brown medieval boots with white ribbons tied around her ankles, dark brown tights, and a pleated bubble red skirt. She also had a black vest and a witch hat on. Compared to the girl next to her, she was quite short. Then again, neither of them were taller than Kaede to begin with.

All was calm until the girl with the ribbon on noticed Shuichi. Then, everything went to hell. Her face morphed from relaxed to shocked to anger before she leaped up from her seat and aggressively pointed a finger at the boy. "Oh no! What are YOU doing here?!"

Kaede, shocked at the hostility directed towards her ally, couldn't find the ability to speak. Shuichi however just continued to wear his dumb smirk. "Well, well, look who it is? How's it going Tenko? Still gorgeous I see. You know, it's great seeing a familiar face after waking up and realizing that you've been kidnapped. Doesn't it make you kind of relieved now that my fabulous self is here?"

"Don't call me by my first name," the girl snarled, hatred seeping through her voice. "We're not close and we won't ever be close. Understand?"

"Nope," Shuichi replied, his smile growing bigger. "We both know that's not true."

Looking back at the girl named Tenko, Kaede realized that she was doing everything she could to not pounce on the detective. Deciding to help the poor girl out, Kaede chose to speak up.

"Uh, Saihara, you know her?"

Turning his attention towards the pianist, Shuichi nodded. "Yep. I've known her for quite awhile now, though as you can tell, she likes to pretend that she hates me."

"Hatred is too weak of a word to describe how I really feel about you," Tenko growled.

"Anyways...Akamatsu, this is Tenko Chabashira. Tenko, this is Kaede Akamatsu. You two play nice now."

Kaede meekly waved at the girl. "Um, it's nice to meet you Chabashira. Do you have a talent? I happen to be the ultimate pianist."

To be honest, Kaede expected Tenko to be hostile to her as well seeing as she was currently hanging out with Shuichi. However, when the girl's eyes met hers, Tenko smiled. "I do actually. I'm the ultimate Aikido Master. Having trained with my master every since I was young, we've invented a new branch of Aikido called Neo-Aikido. I have to ask though, what's a nice girl like you doing with him? If it were any degenerate male I'd care less, but him? How could you stand being near this fiend for even a millisecond?"

"Degenerate male?" Kaede asked Shuichi.

"Yeah, Tenko here hates men with a burning passion. I so happen to be her favorite though."

"Stop calling me by my first name!" The martial artist told him for the second time. Kaede could only glare at him.

"Favorite boy, huh?" She sarcastically asked before choosing to ask him a legitimate question. "But seriously, why does she hate you so much?"

"That my dear friend is a story for another time."

"But believe me, I have my reasons," Tenko said as she continued to glare daggers at the detective, only for him to wink at her in return. However, before Tenko could do anything rash, the other girl in the room decided to make her presence known.

"Nyah, can you three please quiet down?" The girl groggily asked. "You're making it hard for me to concentrate on my 'find familiar' spell."

"And you are?" Shuichi questioned the girl.

"I'm Himiko Yumeno, the 'ultimate magician,'" the girl responded. "I prefer to be called the ultimate mage however since I know real magic."

"Uh, well, I guess that's nice to know," Kaede said, despite the fact magic doesn't exist. To be honest, after watching Tenko and Shuichi's interaction, she was far too tired to argue with a girl wearing a witch's hat about the existence of magic. It seems Shuichi noticed her tiredness, for he didn't bother to provoke the shorter girl either. "I'm not sure if you heard me introduce myself to Chabashira, but I'm Kaede Akamatsu, the ultimate pianist. Next to me is the ultimate detective, Shuichi Saihara."

"Yo."

"It's nice to meet you, I guess," Himiko said before letting loose a loud sigh. "Man, introductions sure are a pain."

"Uh, ok then. I'll stop bothering you in a bit, but can I ask both of you a quick question?" Kaede asked. Much to her relief, the two girls were willing to comply, though Tenko was still glaring at Shuichi. "Do you guys remember anything about how you came here other than the fact several men threw you into a van?"

"Can't say I have," Tenko answered truthfully. Himiko nodded her head in agreement.

"Alright, thanks for your cooperation. I'm going to look for clues somewhere else, so I'll see you all later. Come on Saihara, let's go," Kaede said before hastily exiting the room, not wanting Shuichi to bother Tenko any further. Though the detective took off after her, he just had to make some sort of last minute remark.

"See you later Tenko. Hopefully our next meeting will take place in my room, if you know what I mean," the boy said with a wink. Rightfully so, the only response he got was the tossing of a chair at him by the martial artist. Thankfully, he was fast enough to dodge the projectile. "Still got that fiery temper of yours I see. I like it, but I get the hint. Ta-ta for now.~"

Once the two left the room, Tenko groaned before slamming her head on the table she was sitting at. "Why do I have to be stuck here with him among all people?"

Not wanting to provoke the martial artist even further than Shuichi already had, Himiko just kept her mouth shut.

0000

"Alright, we're about to search the storage facility next," Kaede told Shuichi. "But before we do, I need to know what are the chances of us running into someone else who hates you?"

"Unless we run into someone from the police force, then very low," Shuichi responded. "You'd be surprised by how many of them despise me. I guess it's 'cuz I can do their jobs better than they ever could. Actually, Chabashira'a the only person outside the police force I've ever interacted with that hates me. Then again, I don't really have any friends. I'm far too busy with my job to worry about something so small."

"…ok then, if you say so. Come on, let's just search this place already." Gripping the doorknob, Kaede swung open the door. Looking inside, Kaede and Shuichi both noticed that the storage room was organized quite nicely, with certain types of items separated from the others by using shelves. "Woah, this place is a goldmine of junk. Maybe we can use something here to escape. What do you think Saihara? Saihara?"

Turning her head towards the detective, she saw that he was currently looking at a girl who was browsing through one of the many boxes in the room. The girl was almost identical in height to Shuichi and had long strawberry blonde hair was well as two ahoges. Her skin was almost as light as Kaede's and her attire consisted of brown goggles with yellow accents on her head. She was also wearing a modified pink sailor school uniform, a matching skirt, white socks, and black high-heeled boots. Finally, her socks and skirt were linked by black straps that were connected by golden rings.

"Please tell me you're not checking her out," Kaede groaned in annoyance. The girl was seriously beginning to question why she was still even teaming up with Shuichi, only to constantly remember that he was the 'ultimate detective.' When he didn't reply, the pianist soon realized that he seemed to be tuning her out. A few seconds later, Shuichi stood up and walked towards the girl.

"No way. Miu fuckin' Iruma, is that you?" The boy asked, getting the attention of the mysterious girl. Despite the language used, Kaede was easily able to tell that Shuichi was very happy to see her for some reason.

'Perhaps she's his friend,' Kaede mentally thought to herself. Her suspicions were soon confirmed when the girl smiled back at the detective upon noticing his presence.

"Shuichi, is that you?" the girl named Miu asked. "Damn, am I glad to see your ass here. Where the hell are we and who the fuck did you anger this time?"

"Wow Miu, you wound me," Shuichi replied, placing a hand on his heart while pretending to be sad. "We been friends for thirteen years now and yet here you are, accusing me of getting us kidnapped. Shame on you."

"Well, I wouldn't be asking this if you didn't irritate every fucker you meet," Miu shot back, yet with no hostility.

"Aw, you know me so well Miu," Shuichi gushed. Miu continued to smile at her friend, only for it to turn into a frown upon noticing that Kaede was standing next to him.

"Uh, who the fuck is she?"

"Oh, where are my manners?" Shuichi rhetorically asked himself before clearing his throat. "Miu, this is Kaede Akamatsu, fellow hostage and the ultimate pianist. Akamatsu, it's best if I let Miu introduce herself. I won't be able to give her all the credit she deserves."

Being given the spotlight, Miu immediately introduced herself in a rather loud and vulgar way. "Listen up bitch, I'm the gorgeous girl genius whose good looks and golden brain will go down in history! I'm the one, the only, the legendary Ultimate Inventor herself - Miu Iruma!"

"Miu Iruma huh...can't say I've heard of you," Kaede replied, causing the girl to glare at her.

"You're shitting me, right? Fine then, maybe you'll recognize some of my products. Ever heard of 'Eye Drop Contacts?' You probably haven't, but it's best to start off small as they say."

"Eye drop contacts? Oh, I know those! Some of my friends use them."

"Really? I don't even know why those things are still popular. They're a fucking failure."

Kaede gave the girl a shocked look upon hearing this. "Failure? Why would you say that?"

"'Cuz I actually had to try on those," Miu replied before continuing to browse through the box she was holding. "For a genius like me, we shouldn't have to try to get far in life."

Giving the pianist a sheepish stare, Shuichi wrapped an arm around the both of them. "Miu certainly holds some strange values, don't you think?"

"I can see that," Kaede whispered to him before turning towards Miu. "Well, I guess it's nice to meet you Iruma, but can I ask what you're doing?"

"Huh, I'm trying to find some medicine so I can get high. It's times like now that you just need an escape from life."

"What?! Medicine shouldn't be like that," Kaede said. Much to her surprise, the inventor let loose a small 'eep' before hiding behind Saihara who had let go of them a few seconds ago.

"Shuichi, tiny tits over there is being mean to me. Do something," Miu whimpered.

"Tiny tits?!"

"Girls, both of you need to calm yourselves," Shuichi said. "I'm not going to lie, Akamatsu, is right, medicine isn't intended for that use. But hey, life would be boring if we followed the rules all the time. But enough of that, did you find anything yet? I could go for a nice acid trip right about now..."

"I haven't found anything yet, but you can beat your ass that I'm won't stop looking 'till I do."

"I can't believe what I'm watching," Kaede whispered to herself before finding the energy to speak to the inventor again. "Hey Iruma, do you remember anything about who might have kidnapped you other than the fact they were unidentifiable men?"

Looking down, Miu searched her memory bank to see if she could find something. Unfortunately, like everyone else, she couldn't remember a thing. "Fuck no, I can't remember shit."

"Oh, well that's unfortunate," Kaede said before looking at Shuichi. "Hey Saihara, do you want to continue exploring the school with me or would you rather stay with Iruma?"

Briefly looking at both girls, Shuichi turned his attention towards Miu. "Do you mind if I go with her? I'd love to stay and search for drugs with you, but duty calls. You can come if you want."

"Nah, I'm fine over here," Miu said, waving him off. However, hints of jealousy were present in her tone. "I've never been good with that detective shit you do, so go kick some ass for me, ok?"

Pulling his friend into a quick hug, Shuichi gave her a smile. Like the one he gave her before, this one was a genuine smile compared to the borderline cocky ones he usually throws around. "And this is why I love you so much. Stay out of trouble and let me know if you find something good. I'll see you later, alright?"

"Just go do your fucking job already," Miu told him before continuing her search for drugs. Shrugging, the detective followed the pianist out the door, ready to continue his own search for answers.

0000

Having explored the entire first floor, the two allies then chose to move their investigation to the school's basement, where they were presented with two doors. The first door had an image of a book on it, indicating that the room was a library. The room next door seemed to be quite the opposite of a library, having the image of a video game controller displayed on its door.

"Let me guess, you want to explore the game room, don't you?" Kaede asked as she watched Shuichi practically drool over the sight of a game room.

Flashing her a smile, Shuichi gave her a thumbs up. "It's only been a day and you already know me so well."

Rolling her eyes, Kaede grabbed the door's knob and pulled. Thankfully, the room wasn't locked, so they were able to enter. Upon doing so, they were greeted by the sight of a mini-arcade, filled with a very small selection of games and a minibar.

"Wow, if this was an actual school, I'd spend most of my time here," Shuichi said as he began to marvel at the sight in front of him. Kaede on the other wasn't really paying attention to the arcade. No, instead her eyes fell on an extremely short boy who was standing in the middle of the room. His eyes were completely black and he had visible blush marks on his cheeks. Adding to his strange appearance, he was currently black leather jacket, brown shoes, a metal cuff attached to his left leg, and a black and dark blue striped jumpsuit underneath. Lastly, he had a black hat on which contained two points and a picture of two blue tennis rackets on it.

"Hey there, I'm Kaede Akamatsu, the ultimate pianist. What's your name?"

"…I was once Ryoma Hoshi, the man called the Ultimate Tennis Pro," the boy said in a deep voice. "But, that person no longer exists. I'm nothing more than his empty shell."

"Empty shell, what are you talking about?"

"Ryoma Hoshi, also known as 'Killer Tennis, was the greatest tennis player in Japan," Shuichi informed Kaede, the detective finally noticing the smaller boy. "He had a bright future ahead of him, but he threw it all away one day when he murdered an entire mafia organization. Last time I checked, he was supposed to be on death roll."

"Well? What do you think of the loser before you who used his talent to kill?" Ryoma asked once Shuichi finished telling the story. To be quite honest, Kaede was scared. She was standing in front of a murderer for crying out loud. But looking at the boy in front of her, she didn't see a cold hearted killer. No, instead she saw someone filled with regret.

"…I don't see a loser," Kaede told him. "I see someone who's atoning for their crimes. So keep your chin up and look forwards to the future."

"A future? I need a future anymore," Ryoma told her after listening to her speech. He then opened his mouth to speak, but instead he just shook his head. "No... it's nothing. It's not like me to talk so much. Anyways, I'm going to say this once, it's dangerous to just walk up to a killer like me."

With that being said, Ryoma turned his back towards the girl, signaling that he wanted to be left alone. Still needing to ask some questions for the investigation, Kaede was about to tap him on the shoulder again, only to stop when she felt Shuichi grab her wrist.

"Hey, do you mind waiting outside?" Shuichi asked the girl. "There's something I want to ask him…in private."

Giving him a confused glance, Kaede decided to grant him his wish, seeing as Ryoma was probably going to ignore her for a while. "Sure, just make it quick. I want to see what else is in this school."

With that, Kaede walked away, leaving the two boys alone.

"…Is there something you need from me?" Ryoma asked, his back still facing the taller boy. After a few moments of silence, Shuichi spoke up.

"What do you remember about being brought into this school?"

"Is that all? Well, I was on my way to school when I was ambushed by a group of men. I didn't even struggle when they attacked me. The next thing I know, I'm here."

"Thank you for your time," Shuichi said as he turned his back towards the tennis player. "…You know, society sees killing and committing murder as the same thing, yet they're really not. A person can still be called a hero even if they kill, but once they murder, then they become a villain. I want you to remember that…"

Shuichi then walked out of the room before Ryoma could even reply.

0000

"Maki Harukawa... Ultimate Child Caregiver. Surprised? I don't look like someone who'd like kids, do I? Well you'd be right. I don't like kids all that much. Kids are... weird. They come to me on their own. I'm not that good at taking care of them... I'm not that friendly, either... "

That was the greeting they got from the ultimate child caregiver when the two entered the library. Maki was a slim, light skinned girl with red piercing eyes and long, dark brown hair kept in pigtails held by two red scrunchies. She was currently a scarlet-colored sailor shirt accompanied by thigh-high socks of the same color, a black plaid skirt with a slight green tint, and brown ankle boots.

As for how the library looked, messy was too weak of of a word to describe the room. Books littered the top of the bookshelves and the floor. Even the books in the selves were horribly stacked and organized. Quite simply, it looked as if a hurricane passed through.

"Oh, uh, I'm the ultimate pianist, Kaede Akamatsu. You know, they say kids are very intuitive. If they like you that much... then they can probably tell how loving you really are, Harukawa!"

"They're just kids, they know little about anything," Maki told them. "Anyways, is there anything you want from me? Or are you just here to make small talk? I have better things to do…"

"Like trying to find your way out of here, right?" Shuichi asked before introducing himself. "Shuichi Saihara, ultimate detective. Can I ask you a question?"

"You can, but depending on the question, I might not answer."

"Good... how did you end up here?"

"…I was jumped by some strange men. The next thing I know, I'm here," Maki responded. Watching the two interact, Kaede felt like they were trying to analyze one another, similar to how two superheroes do so when they meet for the first time. "…For a detective, you certainly are clueless about our situation, why else would you need to question me?"

"Sorry sweetheart, I'm not a miracle worker," Shuichi retorted. "Before I can even draw any conclusions, I need part of the puzzle."

"…Fair point."

Not liking the tension building between them, Kaede decided now was the best time to leave. "Well, it looks like we're done here. Come on Saihara, let's go."

"Sure." With that, the two bid Maki farewell before heading upstairs.

0000

When the two tried to open the front door, they were surprised to see they were able to do so with ease. However, the surprise they felt upon doing so couldn't compare to the way the felt upon seeing the outside world.

"…What is going on?" Kaede asked after a few seconds of silence. Surrounding the entire school campus was a large glass dome. Taking some time to process what he was seeing, Shuichi answered.

"I have…no fucking idea."

"So, what now?"

"I guess we'll have to continue looking for hostages and ask them if they know anything. Let's start with that guy over there," Shuichi said before pointing to a tall and muscular individual with long brown hair. He had tan skin, green eyes, and small black glasses on his face. He was currently wearing brown school blazer and matching brown pants, a dark, lime-green tie, and was carrying a bug box strapped over his shoulder. Lastly, he was barefooted. As they got closer to him, the two allies soon discovered that the boy towered over them by almost a foot. This obviously intimidated them.

"Damn that's a big boy," Shuichi whistled. "I'm going to talk to him. If I don't make it back, tell Miu what happened."

Walking forwards, Shuichi tapped the boy's back. When he turned around, Shuichi began his introduction, hoping that the boy won't want to crush him. "Hey there big guy, I'm Shuichi Saihara and over there is Kaede Akamatsu. Do you mind if we ask you a quick question?"

"Oh! Sorry for scaring! Gonta scary-looking. Most people not wanna talk to Gonta when meeting for first time. So, like gentleman, Gonta say thank you! Thank you for talking to Gonta!" The boy said with a smile, noticing that his structure was scaring the two a bit. "Oh... right! Gonta need to make introduction! Ummm... Gonta's name is Gonta Gokuhara. Gonta's talent is Ultimate Entomologist. Gonta want to become gentleman! Becoming true gentleman Gonta's goal! Cuz of forest family, Gonta learn to speak bug and animal. As thanks Gonta wanna show forest family what great gentleman Gonta is!"

"Wow, he's just like a big teddy bear," Kaede whispered to Shuichi, the two no longer afraid of him. "Sorry for being afraid of you

"No, is okay. Gonta used to it. Gonta called scary since he was a kid," Gonta assured them.

"Can you really blame them?" Saihara asked. "Anyways, do you anything about how you got here?"

"Um, all Gonta knows is that he was hit with tiny dart before falling asleep. Sorry."

"It's fine big guy," Shuichi replied, patting the bug catcher's shoulder.

0000

It wasn't long after meeting Gonta that Kaede and Shuichi met another one of their fellow captives. The boy had slightly tanned skin as well as spiked purple hair that's grown out both at the top and bottom of his head. He also had a short goatee and was currently wearing an unbuttoned long sleeved dress shirt with a breast pocket, a white tee-shirt, purple pants, and light purple slippers. After Kaede and Shuichi introduced themselves to him, they were given probably the most enthusiastic introduction they've ever witnessed.

"I'm Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars! Even crying children adore the Ultimate Astronaut! How about it!? I'm an astronaut! Isn't that cool!?"

"Gotta say, that's pretty kick ass," Shuichi told him. "Love your enthusiasm by the way. "

"Heh! Thanks man, not just anyone can get up there! I may be an astronaut, but... I'm actually still in training. But I'm the first teenager to ever pass the exam! I mean, normally you need a college degree to even take the exam, but I had a friend who was crafty, crafty enough to forge some stuff for me. I ended up getting caught. I was in pretty deep shit! But the people up top let me in, since I did so well on the exam."

"You forged your exam?!" Kaede asked, shocked. "That's incredibly illegal. you could've been arrested!"

"Sometimes you gotta be a little reckless to make your dreams a reality! No way can I wait till after college! I wanna get to space as fast as I can, ya feel me!"

"Definitely," Shuichi said with a smirk. "I've had to sacrifice many things just so I could become the man I am today."

"I mean, it's good to make sacrifices sometimes, but there's a fine line between sacrificing something and just being reckless."

"You're right, but what I did wasn't reckless!" Kaito explained. "It was the result of a man willing to do anything to accomplish his dreams."

"Just don't do anything crazy," Kaede informed him, only him to smirk at her.

"Don't worry, I'm a man first and an astronaut second!"

0000

After speaking with Kaito, the two teens began exploring the outside of the school. While doing so, Kaede and Shuichi discovered several facilities such as an indoor swimming pool, a dormitory, and a lab. However, all of them were locked excluding the dormitory, making that their next destination. When they entered, they noticed that the dormitory consisted of three floors. Nameplates were on each of the doors, but was was surprising was that the beamed on the plates were all of the captives in the school.

"You can't actually expect me to stay here," Kaede said in disbelief.

"I agree," Shuichi said as he looked at his nameplate.

"Excuse me, were you captured and brought here as well?" A tall, thin young woman with dull silver hair asked as she approached the group. The girl was currently wearing a maid outfit consisting of a black button up pinafore with a spiderweb motif, a white dress with a black collar, and a purple tie. She also had on black headband that is commonly worn by a maid, as well as black gloves with silver rings attached, black tights, and also black shoes with white laces and heels. "I am Kirumi Tojo, the Ultimate Maid. Please let me know if you require my service."

"Hello Tojo, I'm Kaede Akamatsu, the ultimate pianist and next to me is Shuichi Saihara, the ultimate detective. Nice to meet you," Kaede said.

"Kirumi Tojo, as in the maid that is able to complete any task given to her?" Shuichi asked. Kirumi nodded.

"Indeed, that is me. But you are exaggerating my capabilities. I will not complete any request that is asked of me. I once received a request to annihilate a rival nation, but as it was impossible, I rejected it."

"Uh, well, that's good to know," Kaede said. "Do you know anything about being kidnapped, that is, besides the fact they were men?"

"I do not," Kirumi informed them. "Sorry to disappoint you."

"Meh, it's fine," Shuichi replied. "Everyone we've spoken to can't remember anything either. But the question is, how did we manage to get amnesia? What do our captors want with a bunch of talented kids?"

"This is indeed disturbing," Kirumi said with a nod. "Whatever their reason is for kidnapping us, it's most likely a nefarious one…"

0000

Continuing their exploration, Kaede and Shuichi managed to encounter several other facilities, but due to the buildings' unique exterior design and the fact they were all locked, the two allies had no way of guessing what they were supposed to be. Near the end of the exploration however, they received some luck. Not only was their an alter there (which was sadly locked), but there was a short girl standing in front of the building. The girl had tan skin and round, blue eyes mimicking the color of the ocean. She was currently wearing a frilly bikini and white shoes. Draped over her body was a yellow smock. Finally, her hair was an extremely light shade of platinum blonde.

"Well, unless someone's hiding from us, she should be the last of the captives," Shuichi told Kaede. "Her clothing doesn't leave much to the imagination…"

"Stop being such a perv," Kaede commanded him, before making her way to the girl. "Hey there, I'm the ultimate pianist, Kaede Akamatsu. Next to me is Shuichi Saihara, the ultimate detective. It's nice to meet you."

"What's up good looking," Shuichi said, winking at the girl.

"Yah-hah! How are ya? My name is Angie Yonaga! I'm the Ultimate Artist!" The girl cheerfully introduced herself.

"Um, yeah…do you have any memories about your kidnapping?" Kaede asked, a bit thrown off by her happy-go-lucky attitude.

"Nyahahaha, are you worried?" Angie asked Kaede, her smile never falling. "Ya know, there's no reason to carry bad thoughts! You gotta live every day like it's bright, cheery, and fun!...So says Atua."

"Who now?" Shuichi asked.

"The god of my island, Atua, is always with me, speaking to me with his divine voice..."

Kaede gave her a look of confusion. "So, you're not from around here?"

"Nope! Speaking of which, would you like to begin receiving Atula's blessing? All it requires is a pint or two of your blood..."

"Uh…not really…" Kaede replied, causing Angie's smile to grow smaller. She then turned to Shuichi.

"How about you? Boys can also receive the good word of Atula."

"Yeah, how about no…" Shuichi stated before walking away from the strange girl, Kaede shortly following afterwards.

0000

"So, all we know is that everyone else here was ambushed as well, the school is surrounded by a glass dome, and everyone has an ultimate talent," Kaede said as she sulked. Taking a break from their investigation, the two teens were currently sitting on a bench as they starting going through everything they learned. "It's official, we have no idea what's going on."

"You're right," Shuichi said. "But that doesn't mean you can give up yet. All we need is to find more pieces of this huge puzzle and then we're home free. Trust me, even as the ultimate detective it still takes me a few days to solve huge cases."

"Who said I was giving up?" Kaede asked him as she stood up with confidence. "I'm not going to give up until we get out of here. I'd rather not have to wait a few days, but if that's what it takes, then I'm all for doing so. If we can unite everyone together, we'll be able to leave in no time! After all, we're all ultimates!"

"I wouldn't be too sure of that," Shuichi mumbled. "It's never a good idea to trust someone so blindly."

Though Shuichi didn't intend for this to be heard, Kaede still managed to catch wind of what he said. She was about to retort, only for a to go off, which was then followed by an announcement.

*Ding* *dong* *dong* *ding*

"Testing! Testing! Can you hear me? Can you hear me?" A voice shouted from the various monitors located around the school. I know you're all confused, but could you all make your way to the gymnasium? Everything will make sense there. See you soon!"

"The gym…should we go?" Kaede asked the boy. "This could be a trap, but it can also be how we know what's really going on."

"…Go on ahead," Shuichi told her. "Everyone else will be there. I have something I need to do before I can even think of going. The gym is located on the first floor by the way."

"…alright. I'll wait for you outside the gym," Kaede said before hesitatingly making her way to the school's gymnasium. Shuichi only continued to sit around for a bit before eventually making his way inside the school.

0000

"Damn! It took you long enough to get here," Miu loudly informed the detective once he walked into the storage room. "What the hell were you doing, getting it on with that Akamatsu bitch?"

"Nah, I was just thinking," Shuichi replied. "Thanks for waiting for me."

"Of course dipshit. So, what now?"

"We both know the announcement is going to tell us that we're not going to be allowed to leave this place," Shuichi informed her.

"Yeah, no shit."

"But…they've made a huge mistake in kidnapping us together. With our gifts combined, we'll be able to get out of here with absolutely no problem. For now, we should head to the gym, but once that's over, let's immediately meet up again, preferably in one of our dorm rooms. We'll discuss why needs to be done there. Is that alright with you?"

"If it's you, then I'm perfectly fine with meeting you… alone," Miu said with a suggestive tone.

"Good," Shuichi said as the two friends left the storage room, soon making their way to the gym.

'Leave it to Miu to make everything sexual. Eh, that's what I love about her. However, the person behind the monitor shouldn't underestimate Miu and I because of this. Together, we are an unstoppable force. They should brace themselves, because once I find them, I'll make sure swift justice is delivered…'


	2. Chapter 1 Part 2: The Manhole of Despair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Hey everyone, Fire Slash here and welcome back to the next chapter of Unhinged. Man, it's good to be back. I've officially finished high school and now I'm on summer break, so that means I'll be updating much quickly from now on. This extends to all my other stories as well. Before we continue, I'd like to thank everyone for showing their support for this story. It means a lot. Now, without further ado, review and enjoy :-).

0000

When Kaede entered the school’s gymnasium, she noticed most of her classmates had already arrived, some noticing her entrance while others paid her no mind, instead paying attention to the podium standing opposite from the gym’s entrance.

“Here comes another one,” Rantaro calmly pointed out. “I guess that makes fourteen of us.”

“Kehehe, it seems the next chapter of our stories can finally progress now,” Korekiyo said to no one in particular. Even so, some of his classmates took a few steps away from the anthropologist.

Lightly coughing to gain attention, Kaito was the next to speak up. “So what now? We have everyone here, don’t we? What are we waiting for?”

Maki simply rolled her eyes at the astronaut. “...Did you forget how to count? There’s supposed to be sixteen of us, we only have fourteen. Whoever summoned us here is clearly waiting on them.”

“Well they better hurry the hell up! Now’s not the time for delay!”

“Let’s see, we’re missing Saihara and Iruma, correct?” Kirumi asked. “When was the last time anyone has seen them?”

“Well, Saihara told me he would catch up later. As for Iruma, the only time I saw her was when Saihara and I were introducing ourselves to you all,” Kaede replied as Tenko scoffed.

“Hopefully that idiot hit his head and died. That’ll be one big weight off my back.”

“Hey, don’t kill me off so quickly,” Shuichi playfully whined as he casually strolled into the gymnasium, Miu behind him. “You should know first hand that it’s hard to kill me...Koko.”

“I thought I told you to stop giving me nicknames!”

 

“You did, but I couldn’t help myself. I just feel a bit rebellious whenever I’m around you. Ya know...now that I think about it, I’m a pretty bad boy who definitely needs to be punished. Care to do the honors?~”

“...No words can describe the intense hatred that boils in my body whenever you speak,” Tenko said, her entire face flushed with embarrassment. Shuichi smirked in response.

“I think you might be confusing hatred with arousement.” 

Before she could lunge at the boy, the speakers began blaring on, causing everyone to cover their ears in irritation.

“Mike test! Mike test! Can you hear me? CAN you hear me?” the same voice which summoned the teens to the gymnasium asked.

“I don’t think they can…” another voice said. Compared to the previous one, this one sounded younger. Despite this, the two voices were equally energetic.

“Really? That’s a shame,” a female voice stated. “I thought we fixed all of the microphones.”

“You mean you thought I fixed them,” another voice snottily informed the others. 

“It’s not our fault we were hibernating,” the second voice said matter-of-factly.

“Who gives a fuck?” a deeper voice shouted from the speakers. “Let’s just blame this on Monodam and move on already!”

“...”

“Wow! Our captors sure are dummies,” Kokichi childishly remarked. “How they haven’t realized we can hear them is beyond my understanding.”

“Wait, they can hear us? You idiots, what the hell are you still doing here? Get out there and do your job, or else I’ll be really angry!”

“Eep! Yes daddy.”

A few shuffling noises later, everyone was greeted with what was possibly the strangest things they have ever seen in their entire lifetimes. Appearing out of nowhere were four multi-colored bipedal teddy bears. Each of the bears had their faces and bodies divided by a vertical line, with their bellies and snouts lacking said line. On the left sides of their bodies, the bears had a small black dot for an eye while their snout was one of a classic teddy bear. The left parts of their bodies were also colored white. The right parts of their bodies were where things got strange. Instead of their right eye matching their left, the bears had a lightning bolt shaped mark whose color differed from each other. In addition, extending from their snouts were a sinister grin which extended well past where their cheek bones would have been if they were human. Like their eye color, the right side of the bears also differed from one another. The bear standing in the middle had a red eye and red fur while the one standing to the left of it had a pink eye and pink fur. The one furthest had a yellow eye and yellow fur while also donning tiger like stripes. The one to the red bear’s right had blue fur and a red eye. The final bear, who had a more robotic appearance compared to its comrades had green skin and a red eye.

If the different colors weren’t enough to make you sick of looking at them, each of the bears held their own accessories. The yellow one wore glasses, the blue one held an electric guitar, the red one had a black scarf and throwing stars, and the pink one had a bra made of coconut shells while also donning two flowers, one on it’s right ear and one on its neck area. The green one was the only one who lacked an accessory, looking the most robotic of them all. As you should already be able to guess by now, their appearances didn’t sit too well with the ultimates.

“Uh, can anyone explain to me what’s going on?” Tsumugi asked, being the first to find her voice.

“I honestly have no idea,” Kaede answered.

“Am I high? I think I am,” Shuichi randomly rambled. “It’s the only thing that explains why I’m seeing four Build-a-Bear rejects.”

“Such abominations to nature…” Korekiyo shuddered, Rantaro nodding in agreement.

“H-hey! Shut up!” The red bear shouted in anger.

“What the hell? These things speak?!”

 

“Calm your tits rocket dud,” Miu told Kaito. “These things are remote controlled toys, so obviously they can talk.”

“Oh hell no! Is this girl for real? Did she just call us toys?” The yellow bear asked its comrades before turning its attention towards Miu. “We aren’t some freaking toys you can give to some little shits whenever they decide to act like they’re actually part of society; we’re the Monokubs! I’m Monosuke, the pink one is Monophanie, blue’s name is Monokid, the red idiot is Monotaro, and the tin-can is Monodam. The technology used to create us is something which would even have NASA scratching their heads if we tried explaining it to them.”

“It even baffles me, and I’m smarter than Albert fucking Einstein!” Monokid shouted in glee, only for his comrades to shake their heads.

“As if. You’re practically a walking vegetable…”

“HEY!”

“But anyways, you guys better not call us toys ever again, got it?”

“Really? Y'all that advanced? In that case, mind if I tear you little shits apart? I wanna see what’s inside you, so don’t be afraid to bare it all for me.~” Miu gleefully said as she gave the bears a hungry stare. Before she could do anything drastic however, Shuichi grabbed her shoulder, causing her to freeze in her tracks.

“Easy there girl. Don't go dismembering robots without preparation. You never know what kind of nasty diseases these things might carry.”

“Aw…buzzkill...”

“Anyways, that’s enough dilly-dallying,” Monotaro said, directing all the attention back to him. “Let’s get back to the main issue.’’

 

“Which is?” Ryoma asked, carefully eyeing the bear and his comrades.

“Why you’re all here of course! I bet all of you are itching to learn why the hell you’re all trapped here, am I correct? Well, let me first let you know WHAT you all are-”

“What a pain,” Himiko interrupted. “Can we just get some answers already?”

“NO! Now, as I was saying, you all are ultimates, the best of the best, humanity’s hope for a better future. However, we’re not so sure if you are truly the hope humanity needs to survive. As such, we’ve decided to hold a test for you.”

“What kind of test?” Maki asked.

“I’m glad you asked. This test will assess whether or not you can survive in the real world. It’ll te-”

“YOU FUCKERS ARE GOING TO COMPETE IN A KILLING GAME, WOOHOO!” Monokid said, interrupting his red ally. ‘’HELL YEAH, I’M SO HYPED! ANYONE ELSE GETTING ROCK HARD IN HERE, OR IS IT JUST ME?”

“Hey! You weren’t supposed to interrupt me!”

“Well, you were taking too long, so suck it!”

Despite Monokid’s goofy way of telling them the news, everyone immediately got the message. The kidnapping, being stuffed in a closet, it was definitely a set up for a crime. However, no one would have ever guessed it would be one as large as this; kidnapping kids and making them fight for their survival. Immediately, everyone began reacting to the news in their own ways.

“A killing game… I see. How interesting,” Korekiyo said before releasing one of his signature laughs.

“Will we be provided weapons and/or materials to help us kill each other, or will we be stuck with only our bare hands to use?” Ryoma asked, seemingly unaffected by the news. Maki was also rather calm herself, despite hearing the news as well. Everyone else however was beginning to panic, all except Shuichi, the only thing preventing him from showing his fear was the fact he’s flirted with death countless times. As everyone continued doing their own thing, the detective was trying to analyze the situation a bit further.

‘Okay, so that clears up why we were kidnapped. But now, this to raises a new set of questions. Who the hell is controlling these bears? Is it one person who’s responsible for this ‘game,’ or is an entire organization at fault? Why the hell has no one come to rescue us by now? And where are the fuckers who trapped us here so I can kill them and end this twisted nightmare?’

“A killing game? You can’t be serious!” Kaito stated, snapping everyone back to reality. “There’s no way you can expect anyone here to actually kill someone for a stupid game!”

“People have killed for dumber reasons than this,” Shuichi told the astronaut. The boy was about to retort when the first voice from before began speaking, booming throughout the gymnasium for everyone to hear.

“Believe me when I say that there’ll be a lot of deaths coming your way!” From out of nowhere, another nearly identical bear seemingly teleported behind the Monokubs. Compared to the Monokubs, this bear was nearly a foot taller, lacked any accessories, and had the fur on his right side colored black. He also had a red eye, but other than those minor details, he was almost identical to the Kubs.

Letting out a blood curdling laugh, the bear waved to his audience, “Monokuma returns!”

“Father!”

“Father?” Kaede questioned Monotaro, only to be ignored.

“Listen up you bastards, since my kids can’t be bothered to do even the simplest of tasks, I’ll go into more details on the killing game...after I introduce myself of course. The name’s Monokuma, and I’ll be your headmaster. Better get used to looking at my steamy mug ‘cause from now on, this’ll be one of the only things you’ll be seeing for a while.”

“H-headmaster? You?” Himiko asked, scared and confused at the same time.

“Didn’t ya hear me the first time! I’m your damn headmaster, so all of ya better show me some respect! Anyways, onto the main attraction, the killing game. The rules are simple; all of you will be spending the rest of your lives in this school with no contact from the outside world. If you really want to leave, there’s only one thing you have to do, which is graduate from the Ultimate Academy of Gifted Juveniles!”

“And let me guess, the only way to graduate is by killing someone, correct?” Maki asked, her eyes focusing only on the ‘father.’

“Bingo! Strangulation, poison, hacking and slashing, electrocution; the method doesn't matter. As long as you commit the crime and aren’t caught, then you’re free to go.”

“What do you mean by ‘not being caught?’” Kaede asked fearfully. Monokuma only smiled more.

“Already showing some interest in the killing game, I see. Well, you guys ask too many questions, so I’m not going to talk any more. These Monopads have the rest of your answers. Make sure not to lose them, for they’re essential to living your lives here to the fullest.” 

“You really think that any of us are actually going to participate in your twisted game?” Kaede bravely asked the robotic teddy bear, despite actually being terrified of the whole ordeal.

“Eh?”

“No one here would even think of commiting murder! Your twisted idea of a ‘game’ will never happen! We will all survive and we will catch you.”

“That’s a bold claim to make, especially since the game’s already started.”

“What?”

“Oops! I said too much. I better get outta here before my sexy mouth spoils anything else. Sayonara Bitches and happy killings!”

Just like when he showed up, Monokuma suddenly vanished after passing out the Monopads, which were basically custom made tablets. 

“Uh, we should leave as well.. See you later suckers,” Monosuke said before the Monokubs disappeared too, no doubt following their dad.

Left with only each other and their Monopads, everyone stood in silence as they were still trying to process what had just happened. Eventually, someone found the courage to speak up.

“Standing around here isn’t going to do anything,” Ryoma said. “We might as well take a look at our Monopads.”

Having no objections, Shuichi began turning on his Monopad, eager to get some answers.

“Alright bad boy, let’s see what you’ve got.”

Upon being powered on, the tablet briefly flashed his name before a menu of several icons popped up. Pressing the icon furthest to the left with his hand, a map of the entire school soon displayed itself on the tablet. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a complete map seeing as none of the upper floors of the school were shown, despite the detective knowing full well of their existence. 

‘Strange…’ the detective thought to himself before clicking on another icon, this one having the image of a bullet at its center. Tapping it revealed the function was called ‘truth bullets.’ What truth bullets were, Shuichi did not know, but he knew they would be important later. Unfortunately, he couldn’t access it right now for some odd reason. The next icon Shuichi clicked on was one which looked like a present box. Apparently, it was some sort of encyclopedia for presents of some sort, with all the slots currently occupied with a question mark. Why Monokuma found it necessary to include this in the Monopad, Shuichi could care less. He was more interested in actually filling out the thing himself. If he was going to be trapped here, he might as well have some fun.

Moving on, the next icon Shuichi began tinkering with was one which had a basic image of a boy and a girl. Tapping on it, a list of Shuichi’s fellow classmates immediately popped up. His detective instincts taking over, the boy began browsing through the files, hoping to learn more about his classmates. Unfortunately, all the information displayed in the report cards were basic stuff, including everyone’s heights, weights, and talents. Even their bust sizes were on there was well, causing Shuichi to snigger like the immature child he was. 

“Check it out, Monokuma’s been building a wank bank for all the pervs out there,” Shuichi whispered to Miu. Miu, being one of the few people with a maturity level lower than her friend, immediately began to take interest in the report card.

“Ya serious?” The girl asked before dropping what she was doing to check it out for herself. Unfortunately, it seemed like she was actually expecting a pornography page, for her facial expression changed from one of excitement to one of sadness. “What the fuck is this shit? I thought you said there was a wank bank! All I see are everyone’s boob sizes. Monokuma didn’t even have the audacity to add all the boy’s dick sizes...weak.”

In response, all Shuichi could do was laugh, only to be reminded that maybe now wasn’t the time for such childish antics as everyone began giving the dual confused stares. Awkwardly coughing, Shuichi continued his search, tapping on the final icon, one which had Monokuma’s right eye displayed. Upon doing so, a list of ‘school rules’ was displayed, which read as the following:

#1: Students are required to cohabitate at the Ultimate Academy for the remainder of the unforeseeable future.  
#2: When a murder is committed in the academy, a class trial will be conducted. Participation in this trial is mandatory for all surviving students.  
#3: If the killer (hereinafter referred to as "the blackened") is correctly identified during the class trial, only the blackened will be punished for their crime.  
#4: If the blackened cannot be identified, or if an incorrect student is identified as the blackened, all students except the blackened will be punished for the crime.  
#5: If the blackened survives the class trial, they are declared the winner. At which point, they will graduate from the Ultimate Academy and re-enter the outside world.  
#6: If innocent students (hereinafter referred to as "the spotless") continue to survive class trials, the killing game will continue until only two students remain.  
#7: "Nighttime" is officially designated as the hours between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. During this time, the dining hall and gymnasium are closed.  
#8: All acts of violence toward Monokuma, the headmaster of the Ultimate Academy, are strictly prohibited.  
#9: Monokuma will never directly participate in a murder.  
#10: Your Monopads are very important items. Make sure you do not damage them.  
#11: A body discovery announcement will occur when three or more students discover a body.  
#12: Students have free rein to explore the Ultimate Academy as they see fit.  
#13: Students who violate these rules will be exterminated with extreme prejudice by the Exisals.  
#14: The headmaster may add additional regulations to this list at any time.

Immediately, three things popped out to the detective. First off, the ‘class trial’ mentioned in rules three and four helped Shuichi understand what type of game this was. It wasn’t enough to kill, you actually had to hide the evidence indicating it was your doing. Now knowing this, Shuichi immediately got a large confidence boost. After all, how could the innocents lose if they had the ultimate detective on their side?

Secondly, according to rule six, this game would end only if there were two survivors remaining or if someone managed to get away with murder. Though initially confused as to why the limit was only two survivors, the young detective was soon able to come up with an answer. The game couldn’t continue with two people because if one killed the other, there would be no innocents remaining for the killer would be the only one left.

As for his last problem, it had to deal with rule thirteen.

“The fuck’s an Exisal?” Shuichi asked out loud, causing everyone to turn towards him.

“Duh stupid, it’s a weapon,” Kokichi answered, giving him a innocent looking smile.

“But what type of weapon is it genius?” Shuichi shot back. 

“Neh, why does it even matter?” Hiniko asked.

“‘Cause, the more resources Monokuma’s master or masters have, the more powerful they are. If you really want to get out of here without murder, then you’ll need to fight. However, if these ‘Exisals’ are basically freaking tanks, then we’re better off living here.”

“I could care less,” Ryoma stated. “Either way, I’ll be trapped in one place for the rest of my life.”

“Like hell if I’m going to wither away here,” Kaito shouted. “Even if they have tanks, I’ll keep fighting for my survival.”

“Yeah, he’s right,” Kaede said in agreement. “We can’t give up. If we work together, than even an army of tanks will be no match for us!”

“Don’t forget, we also have Atula on our side,” Angie declared, causing everyone to give the artist confused looks. “No human weapons are a match for the divine, assuming that he chooses to help us. After all, it’s up to him if we live or die here.”

“...Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Shuichi mumbled under his breath. 

“Even when the odds are heavily against us, you all still choose to fight… how wonderful… how spectacular… how beautiful!” Korekiyo gently shouted before letting loose a maniacal laugh.

“...Riiight. So what now?”

“What do you mean?” Tsumugi questioned. Rantaro then proceeded to answer her question with one of his own.

“I’m guessing you’re asking for our next course of action, correct?” 

“Ooh! Gonta has an idea,” the gentle giant exclaimed. “ When Gonta was looking for bugs earlier, he remembers seeing a manhole. Maybe that a way out?”

“A man-hole!?” Kaede asked, ecstatic that there might actually be a way to leave this hellhole without any unnecessary bloodshed. “Gokuhara, do you remember where this manhole is?”

“Yes, Gonta remembers.”

“Do you think you can take us there?”

“Sure, Gonta will lead way.” With that, Gonta immediately began leading everyone towards the manhole, everyone’s hearts pounding faster and faster at the possibility of freedom.

0000

Leading his classmates to the school’s boiler room located in the back of the school, Gonta pointed to the manhole located in the back of the room. “There!”

“Thanks Gokuhara,” Kaede said with a smile as she walked towards the hole. Unfortunately, it seemed to be covered by a metal lid, one which Kaede knew for a fact she couldn’t lift. “Uh, anyone want to give this a shot?”

“Allow me,” K1-B0 declared as he walked towards the metal lid. Gripping it, the robot tried to lift it, and to everyone’s shock, he wasn’t even able to lift it at least somewhat off the floor.

“Whew, it’s heavier than it looks,” K1-B0 said as he stretched his back, despite not really having one.

“Uh, you’re a robot, right?” Shuichi asked the ultimate robot. “Where’s your super strength or kick ass arm cannons?”

“...I don’t possess any of those, at least, not anymore,” K1-B0 admitted. “My strength is equivalent to that of a senior citizen.”

“Talk about a major nerf. Do you at least have a blowtorch function installed?”

“No. I don’t possess anything that can be classified as a weapon.”

“...Suddenly I’m less interested in you.”

“Hey! I’m still cool,” K1-B0 frantically said. “Uh, I have an hairdryer function installed in me! Pretty neat huh?”

“More like super lame…”

“Hey!

“Err… right. Anyways, it's my turn now!” Kaito shouted with much enthusiasm, gently pushing K1-B0 out of the way. Grabbing the lid, Kaito began to lift the lid, but like the robot, the astronaut was unable to move it. “Damn, this thing IS heavy.”

“Can Gonta try?” Gonta asked.

“Alright bud, go for it,” Kaito replied, moving out of his way. “Don’t be discouraged if you can’t lift it though.”

Immediately after saying those words, Kaito’s mouth immediately hung open, as well as everyone else’s, for Gonta was able to lift the manhole without any effort. In fact, he held it up with only two fingers among all things!

“Upsy-daisy,” the muscular teen innocently said before gently tossing the lid. Well, it appeared to be gentle despite the lid landing a few meters away from everyone.

“...The hell is this guy on?” Shuichi asked as everyone continued to gawk at Gonta’s superhuman strength. “Note to self, don’t piss off the bug catcher or else you'll be turned into a pancake in no time…”

“Er, let’s just move on,” Kaede said before descending down the manhole, everyone else following shortly after.

0000

Upon crawling down the manhole, Kaede was greeted by the sight of what appeared to be a sewer system. However, Kaede knew it wasn't actually one, for there were no sewage to be found. In addition, the place didn't smell like one either. 

“Uh, what is this place?” Tsumugi asked, something that everyone else was wondering. 

“It kinda looks like a fallout shelter to me,” Kokichi said with his trademark smile. Rantaro glanced at him. 

“Hm…is it possible that something's happened to the outside world?”

“Have you seen the sky dumbass?” Miu asked him. “Last time I checked, it's still blue and stuff, so don't be making shit up.”

Shuichi shook his head. “Miu, the sky’s fake.”

“Whaaat?”

“Yeah, it's a pretty damn convincing sky, but it's just a green screen,” Kaito stated. 

“And you know this how?” Maki asked the astronomer and detective, curious as to how they knew such a thing. 

“To the trained eye, it's obvious,” Rantaro calmly replied before the other boys were even able to formulate a single thought. “When I went outside, the sky being fake was the first thing I noticed. Well, besides the giant dome keeping us inside this place.”

“And you didn’t tell us earlier?” Tsumugi asked, causing the boy to rub his head sheepishly. 

“Ah, I’m sorry. Must have slipped my mind.”

‘How does something so big casually slip through someone’s mind?’ Shuichi mentally asked to himself as he glanced at the amnesiac. ‘I’ve gotta start keeping a closer eye on this dude.’

“Pardon me, but I believe I found a possible way out,” Kirumi said, gathering everyone’s attention. Looking at where the maid was pointing, the rest of the students noticed a tunnel leading out of the supposed fallout shelter/basement/underground room. However, the tunnel’s entrance had multiple caution signs, making it seem quite dangerous. 

“What sharp eyes you have,” a familiar yet dreaded voice echoed around the room before everyone’s favorite mechanical bear suddenly appeared in front of the tunnel’s entrance. “I can’t believe you found the exit so quickly.”

“Wait, that’s actually an exit?” Kaede asked, her eyes gleaming with hope. We can get out of here?”

“Of course you can,” Monokuma replied before laughing maniacally. “That is, if you can get through the tunnel…”

“Huh? WHat do you mean?” Sadly, Kaede’s question fell on deaf ears for Monokuma disappeared as quickly as he came.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Kaede asked her classmates. “Let’s get out of here!”

“Yeah...I’m staying put,” Shuichi stated, shocking the pianist. 

“What? Why? The exit’s right here! We can leave this horrorfest already!”  
“Kaede, ever think that this is just a trap?” The detective responded. “A trap designed to get our hopes up, only to shatter them?”

Looking at the rest of her classmates, Kaede noticed they were considering what the detective had said. Truth be told, she was having her doubts as well. But, if this was truly a way of getting out, she wasn’t going to let this opportunity go to waste.

“You’re right, this might just be a trap,” Kaede told him. “But I’m not going to let this opportunity go to waste. If we just ignore this, then we’ll never get out of here. We need to seize every opportunity we get or else we’ll just play into Monokuma’s paws. I’d rather know that I gave it my all trying to escape this place instead of realizing I didn’t even try. I mean, we’re ultimates, right? If we all work together, we can produce some amazing results.”

“She’s right!” Kaito said, passionately slamming his two fists together. “If this is a trap, then so be it. I’m no coward! I’ll do anything if it means we don’t have to kill anyone just for freedom.”

“Well, it’s your choice,” Shuichi said with a shrug. “I’m not going to stop you, but I’m not going with you. Let me know if I was wrong.”

Though her motivational speech seemed to have no effect on the cheeky detective, it seemed to affect nearly everyone else. Heck, even Miu was willing to try the tunnel. Despite what one may believe, Miu and Shuichi did have their own opinions. 

“Alright, let’s do this,” Kaede exclaimed before everyone ran inside the tunnel. Looking around, Shuichi noticed that only two people stood with him, Kokichi and Maki.

“You two not going?”

“It’s a trap, is it not?” Maki asked. “It’d be foolish for me to risk my life in something so blatantly obvious.”

“I could care less about the tunnel,’ Kokichi stated. “Hanging around with you seems more interesting.”

“Really? I’d find doing what they’re doing more interesting.”

“Meh, what they’re doing is something most people would do. One thing about any living thing is that they hate being trapped. It makes them feel weak, so they try to escape as quickly as they can. I like how you’re not like that. Nee-heehee~ This game just got a lot more fun with you around.”

After hearing Kokichi’s mini speech, both Maki and Shuichi stood silent, not sure how to react. Without even speaking to one another, the two agreed on one thing; that Kokichi was definitely dangerous if left unchecked.  
Eventually tired of the awkward silence, Shuichi decided to speak up. “So, Haruwaka, are you single?”

“Don’t even try…”

“Aw~”

0000

“C’mon, let’s give it another go!” Kaede shouted after being thrown out of the tunnel for the fourth time. It was like Shuichi had said, the tunnel was a trap designed to get everyone’s hopes up, only to destroy them. Despite this, Kaede never faltered, continuing to dive head first into the supposed exit. Her enthusiasm was definitely contagious seeing as nobody else have given up either. Heck, Miu, possibly the laziest person Shuichi knew, was still going strong. He could not fathom how Kokichi didn’t find their hope interesting. 

Shuichi had to admit though, he seriously underestimated Kaede as a person. He honestly expected her to just be someone completely average with a niche talent. But after watching her get up on her feet each time she failed, Shuichi knew he was in the presence of someone amazing. Well, she wasn’t as amazing as his fabulous of course, but she was still pretty freaking impressive. 

Sadly, as cool as Shuichi found her, it didn’t save her from being booted out the tunnel for the fifth time today. “Phew, this thing’s tough. But let’s keep at it! We were so close! We can’t give up now!”

“Oh would you give it a rest already?” Kokichi asked, causing everyone to look at him. “This whole thing’s just hopeless…”

“You have no right to say that!” Kaito growled at the supreme ruler. “You didn’t even bother trying to help us out.”

Kokichi smirked in response. “Why are you being so mean to me? All I’m doing is trying to help out. Have you looked at everyone? You’re so desperate to get out of here that you haven’t noticed that everyone’s exhausted. You’re pushing them too hard for your selfish goal.”

“What are you talking about?” Kaede asked. “This just isn’t my goal. Everyone here wants out!”

“You’re right there,” Kokichi said before turning towards the rest of his classmates. “But tell me, do you all really want to continue going through a tunnel that seemingly leads to nowhere until one of you breaks something? Or, do you want to just call it a day and try finding another way out tomorrow?”

“Nyah, we haven’t gotten anywhere and I’m tired,” Himiko stated before yawning. Miu nodded in agreement.

“Fuck this, I’ve got no energy for this shit anymore.”

“He is right,” Tsumugi said. “I can’t feel my legs anymore.”

As the rest of her classmates began grumbling to themselves, Kaede frowned. She hated seeing them give up, but she knew she couldn’t do anything else to motivate them. Kokichi had already turned them against her. 

As everyone else began exiting the manhole, eager to call it a day, Kaede hung her head down in shame. Thankfully, it seemed that there were still some people on her side. 

“Tch, don’t worry about what Kokichi said,” Kaito said, patting the pianist on the back. “You did nothing wrong. Everyone just doesn’t have the same spirit as you.”

“He’s right you know,” Shuichi exclaimed, approaching the duel. To be honest, Kaede was quite surprised to see him here. After all, he didn't even bother going down the tunnel himself. “You were just looking out for everyone else. I have to say, you’ve impressed me. After the first two runs in that tunnel, I would’ve given up. You however, you were eager to keep on going even though you knew it was a trap. You have strength girl, and that strength will get you far. Just next time, don’t immediately jump into the unknown. Take a few seconds to think about it first. Well, I’m beat, so I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“That kid is definetly weird,” Kaito whispered to Kaede as they watched him leave the manhole. 

“Yeah, he’s weird, but I feel he can be trusted,” Kaede stated.

0000

“Man, it’s nighttime already?” Shuichi asked himself once he climbed out of the manhole. “I could’ve sworn we weren’t in there for that long.”

Despite this feeling the detective had, the false sky had already turned dark. “It’s like they say, time flies when you’re having fun.”

Letting out a yawn, Shuichi decided to call it a night as well, seeing as nothing else was happening. Making his way to his dorm room, he was greeted with a surprising sight. Right in front of his room was Tenko, who was giving him a glare.  
“Well, well, look who decided to take my offer,” Shuichi said as he smirked at the girl, only for her glare to deepen. “I knew you couldn’t resist me.”

“Cut the crap,” Tenko growled at him. “What were you doing with Kaede?”

“Just giving her a pep talk,” Shuichi said innocently. “Why do you ask?”

“Because I know the type of person you are and I don’t want Kaede getting mixed up in your antics. You’re like a plague, infecting everyone you see. You’ve already corrupted Miu and I’m not allowing you to do so to any other girls here. So, unless you want to get back-thrown into oblivion, I’d recommend that you don’t try anything funny. Are we clear?”

“Crystal,” Shuichi replied, his smirk having grown bigger. It was quite obvious that he wasn’t taking the martial artist too seriously. However, in an instant, his smile dropped, replaced with a reminiscent frown. “Whatever happened to the good old days?”

“...”

“You, Miu, and I used to be an inseparable trio. I honestly miss those times. Why can’t we go back to the way things were?”

Upon hearing this, Tenko looked away, not wanting the boy to see the sadness in her eyes. “You threw that all away when you became a murderer.”

After saying this, Tenko immediately walked away, making her way to her dorm room. After watching her do so, Shuichi entered his own room, readly to call it a day.

“Don’t worry Tenko. I’ll make sure you eventually see things my way. But to do so, I need to get us out of here alive. I swear on my life that I’ll do so. Then, I can get my other best friend back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note 2: next chapter, we'll get a preview of Shuichi's backstory. Stay tuned till then and have a great week :-).


	3. Chapter 1 Part 3: Only the Best Filler

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Hey everyone, Fire Slash here and welcome to another chapter of 'Unhinged.' Sorry it took so long, I just decided to take a break from Danganronpa and write for other fandoms. Even though Danganronpa is my favorite franchise of all time, even I need to spice things up a bit. Oh, and I just wanted to let you guys know something about Shuichi's character; he isn't a moral compass. In fact, he sees the world in black and white. His beliefs do not reflect mine (I'm not going to tell you what kind of justice I believe in to avoid an unnecessary argument). His are what I developed for the character. Whether you agree or disagree with Shuichi, just remember he is a fictional character.
> 
> Also, this chapter is mainly filler. Sorry, but in order for a story to progress, it has to happen sometimes. Oh, pairings are still up for suggestion btw. Should Shuichi date Kaede, Miu, or Tenko? You decide. Anyways, review and enjoy :-)

*Sniff* 

God he hated them. He hated them for everything they’ve done to him. He hated how they put him down, beated him for something that was their fault, and how much they could give less of a fuck about him. He was only five years old, but even at such a young age, he knew that mommies and daddies were supposed to love their children. They were supposed to protect their children from harm, not inflict it themselves. Seriously, fuck them.

*Sniffle*

Damn, he wished he was older, stronger, and smarter. Maybe then he’d be able to retaliate against them, maybe even prevent them from harming him ever again…

God, why did people like them exist? People who were privileged, yet were so unsatisfied with their lives that they had to take their anger out on a defenseless child. Man, how he seriously wished he was stronger. 

Inside the little playground tunnel in his local park, young Shuichi tried to lift his arms, only to growl in pain. His arms were completely bloodied and bruised, some of the blood even managing to spill all over the inside of the tube, his head had a large gash to its side, blood also seeping out of the opening, and under his pants, his legs were in the same condition as his arms. Sighing, he knew he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon…

He wanted to tell someone, but how could he? According to his parents, they can’t get in trouble. They were rich and rich people are immune to the law due to their money. ‘The police can’t do anything’ they taunted. 

Forming a fist with his left hand, Shuichi punched the inner wall of the playground tunnel, not caring how much it hurt. If he were older, than maybe he could do something about his parents, no, all of those who can break the law without punishment. As a five year old, Shuichi was smart. While half of those who do bad things and get away with it are rich, he knew the other half were poor. Instead of money, they relied on their own skills to fool the cops into thinking they were innocent. Those people pissed him off almost as much as the snobby upperclassmen…

“Hey, are you ok?”

“...” Turning his head towards his right, he was surprised to see a blonde haired girl his age crawling into the tube, curiously glancing at the injured boy. It was midnight, what was she doing here?

After a few moments of silence, Shuichi looked away from her. “...I’m fine.”

“But you’re bleeding...”

“I said I’m fine,” Shuichi growled at her, hoping by intimidating her, she’d go away. Unfortunately, she seemed adamant in not leaving him. “It’s nighttime, what are you doing out here?”

“..,My mommy and daddy are being poops, so I ran away.”

If Shuichi wasn’t so hurt right now, he’d laugh at her choice of words. He sometimes forgot kids his age don’t curse like he does. 

“What’d they do?”

“...They’re always arguing,” the girl told him, her once cheerful mood being replaced by one of sadness. “T-They do it everyday and it scares me. They used to be happier. I think it’s my fault they’re arguing…”

Most people in Shuichi’s situation would just scoff at her at her reasoning for running away. How could that compare to what they’re going through. However, Shuichi wasn’t like that.

“I don’t think it's you,” he told her. “It would’ve happened earlier...”

Again, the two sat in silence, simply enjoying each other’s company, that is, until the girl decided to speak again. “So, what’s wrong with you? Why are you hurt?”

“...I don’t want to talk about it.”

“But I told you what’s wrong with me,” The girl complained, pouting. Even though they were the same age, Shuichi admitted he found that quite adorable. “Now it’s your turn.”

“Fuck it,” the boy sighed, realizing that the only way to get her to leave him alone was either by moving her physically or by telling her the truth. Seeing as he could barely move, he went with the second option. “My family did this to me.”

Gasping, the girl looked at his bloodied face, his tears having dried up. “How could they?!”

“I-I don’t know. They do this to me all the time. I don’t remember the last time they were nice to me. They hate me, and I hate them.” New tears began to flow out of the boy’s eyes again before he slammed his fist into the ground, scaring the girl. “I-I wish they were dead!”

Another awkward silence engulfed the two, Shuichi quietly sobbing while the girl tried to think of what to do next. In the end, she decided to give the boy a hug. After all, hugs make everything better, right?

“I’m sorry,” the girl told him, believing she did something wrong. Moving his head away from his hands, the blue haired boy gave her a small smile. 

“It’s not your fault.”

Commence the fourth awkwards silence shared between the two.

“I’m Miu, what’s your name?”

“...Shuichi,” The boy responded, making Miu smile.

“Nice to meetcha. Um…”

Noticing her struggle, Shuichi tilted his head to the side. “Yes?”

“Uh, well, you used a word I don’t know. What does ‘fuck’ mean?”

Yeah, remember how he nearly laughed at her language before? Well, this time, he couldn’t hold it in. For the next five minutes, he laughed as if he were told the funniest joke in the world, all while Miu looked at him, not sure if she should be angry he was laughing at her or happy since he was now happy as well.

“MIU! MIU! ARE YOU HERE?!” A woman screamed, causing the young girl’s eyes to widen.

“That’s my mommy,” she told the boy. 

“Ah, well, it was nice meeting you.”

“I-I don’t want to leave you…” Miu admitted. “You’re still hurt.”

“I’ll be fine,” Shuichi tried assuring her. “This happens all the time…”

“But-”

“You should go back to your mom. Your dad and her are worried about you.” He then smiled at her. “See? It’s not your fault they’re arguing.”

“...Will I ever see you again?”

“Hell yeah. If you ever want to see me again, then you can find me here everyday…” Shuichi informed her, his face falling. “Always in the afternoons, sometimes at this time.”

Crawling out the tunnel, Miu shot the boy a final glance. “Stay safe.”

“I’ll try.”

Watching her run back to her family, Shuichi smiled. For some reason, the girl’s company seemed to have made him feel better, probably since she actually cared about him…

“Maybe I’ll see her again,” Shuichi wistfully thought to himself, unaware that their current meeting had formed the foundations of a friendship that would survive a lifetime...hopefully... 

Oh, and for those of you curious, yes, that's how Miu began her journey into having the biggest potty mouth in the country. You have Shuichi to thank for that.

0000

When Kaede woke up the next morning, she was nervous, nervous her classmates were still angry at her for motivating them to try escaping through the manhole. All she wanted was to escape, but it seemed she forgot to think about her classmates’ feelings. 

Shaking her head, the pianist decided to get dressed. She wasn’t going to let a minor setback stop her from reaching her goal, and it wasn’t like everyone was mad at her. Kaito seemed to support her and so did Rantaro who had complimented her on her passion. She also had Shuichi, while a wild card, appeared to be someone she could rely on. 

“Well, here goes nothing,” Kaede muttered under her breath before walking towards the school’s cafeteria. Arriving at the door, the girl took a deep sigh in before opening the door. Much to her surprise, everyone else was already in the room, eating and chatting amongst themselves. 

“Yo, what’s up Akamatsu,” Shuichi said upon noticing her, leaning back in an attempt to look cool. All it did though was make his seem like a massive loser.

“...” Next to him, Miu was giving the girl a soft glare, something Kaede was confused by. What did she do to earn the inventor’s hostility?

“Hey,” Kaede replied awkwardly, her nervousness coming from the combination of Miu’s stare and what happened yesterday. True to his title, Shuichi was able to pinpoint where her nervousness was coming from. 

Taking a sip of orange juice, the boy smiled. “If you’re worried about yesterday, don’t be. Everyone was just being a big fucking baby and Kaito and I told them to man up if they want to leave.”

The boy’s use of the phrase ‘man up’ earned a glare from Tenko. Normally she’d reprimand someone about using such a degenerate saying, but she did not want to speak to the detective. He’d just find a way to bother her. 

Hearing this, Kaede shot both Shuichi and Kaito a thankful smile, causing the astronaut to flash her a thumbs up.

“I still think she shouldn’t have pushed us so hard…” Kokichi loudly muttered under his breath so everyone could hear him. Knowing he was trying to cause trouble, Shuichi flipped him the bird. 

Ignoring the supreme ruler, Kaede took a seat next to Tenko, that being the only remaining seat available. “I highly doubt it, but did any of you find anything else we can use to escape?”

“I’m afraid not,” Rantaro admitted, speaking for the group. Seeing as no one bothered to state otherwise, the girl took this as them agreeing with him. “There doesn’t seem to be anymore secret areas for the time being, though there might be some upstairs, but I personally haven’t found a way to unlock the barriers preventing us from going there.”

“And Kiibo still remains as useless as ever…” Kokichi sighed, causing the robot to glare at him. 

“Hey, I’m still useful. You guys just expect a lot out of me, that’s all…”

“Well duh, you’re a robot.”

Before the argument could resume, a familiar voice began booming around the room. “You know, if you want to escape, then just kill someone. It’s that easy.”

Everyone turning their heads to the right side of the room, they were disgusted to see Monokuma was now in the cafeteria, giving them his signature smile. 

Kaito shot the bear a nasty smile. “If you think any of us are actually going to do that, then you’re out of your mind!”

Monokuma’s smirk only grew larger. “Geez, you bastards sure are devoted to your lovey dovey crap. Well, how about I give you a little motive, something that will make you think about killing someone…”

“Go on…” Kokichi said, curious as to where he was going with this. Shuichi shot the bear an interested glance as well. Though he was not one for killing innocents, he still wanted to hear the motive. It might give him some insight as to what the person controlling Monokuma is like. 

“How about this, the first kill’s free.”  
Tsumugi tilted her head in confusion. “Huh?”

“If someone kills by the end of the day, the perp graduates for free. No investigation, no class trial, and a free pass to the outside world. ‘I call it, the First Blood Perk.’ C’mon, whatcha say?”

“You don’t get it,” Kaede growled at the bear. “We want to escape this place together, without any bloodshed. There’s no way any of us will take you up on anything you offer, so you might as well stop trying.”

“You know, you guys make no sense,” Monokuma told them. “You want to leave, but you won’t do what’s required. Listen up and listen up real good, none of you are leaving unless one of you disturbs the peace. Any possible escape routes have been locked, so have fun rotting in here for the rest of your life.”

Hearing this caused Kaito to fum in anger. “You son of a-” He then lunged at the bear, only for Gonta to hold him back. “Let go of me! Let me at ‘em!”

“My, my, seems like we have a rule breaker present,” The voice of Monotaro said as he and his siblings suddenly appeared out of nowhere in their Exisals. 

Shuichi stared at the Exisals in disbelief. ‘The hell? These things are breaking reality like it’s nothing. How do they do it?’

“You know what we do to rule breaker, right?” Monosuke asked no one in particular. Either way, Monokid decided to answer.

“We blow them to SMITHEREENS! Damn, and I thought I was hard before, but now, I’M LOADED!”

Monophanie sighed. “Monokid, you’re disgusting.”

“Your brother’s perverted nature doesn’t matter right now,” Monokuma scolded. “Kill the rule breaker already.”

At this moment, Kaito realized he fucked up. “...Shit…”

Crackling, Monotaro prepared to lead off the attack, stepping forwards. However, it seemed he overestimated the distance between him and Monokuma, for the robot accidently stepped on him. 

“Kyahh!” Monophanie screamed in horror. “Monotaro, what did you do?!”

“I-It was an accident, I swear…”  
Monokid growled at the red Monokuma. “You just fucking killed pops!”

“I-I said it was an accident!” At this point, Monotaro was bawling his eyes out. 

“Damn, and we don’t have any spares…” Monosuke growled. “C’mon guys, let’s go burry our dad.”

“But what about the rule breaker?!” Monokid asked, glaring daggers at Kaito. “He’s the reason our pop was murdered!”

“We don’t have time to worry about him,” Monosuke replied as he began cleaning up the remains of their father. “Hopefully someone kills him.”

Each of the Monokubs let loose a sniffle before disappearing, leaving behind sixteen happy teenagers. 

“Wait, so now that Monokuma’s dead, does this mean the killing game is over?” Angie asked the gang.

“Well, the yellow Monokuma said he didn’t have any spare Monokumas,” Himiko said with a yawn. “Whew… now I can relax again.”

Immediately, nearly everyone began cheering, excited they no longer had to deal with the killing game. However, Kaede couldn’t bring herself to be as happy as the rest of her classmates were. She knew something was wrong. 

“I dunno guys, doesn’t this seem to convenient?” Kaede asked her classmates. “I mean, we’ve only been here for a day and Monokuma’s already dead…”

“I thought you’d be more excited about this,” Kokichi said, a smirk forming on his face. “Don’t tell me, you were actually hoping for the killing game to happen?”

“What? No! I-”

“Let me stop you before you dig yourself deeper into the hole you just made. You were the one who wanted us to go into the tunnel and now you’re the one not willing to accept things the way they are? Nishishishi, looks like we have a traitor on our hands~”

“T-traitor!” Kaede couldn’t believe what was happening. Kokichi was accusing her of being a traitor, and worst of all, everyone seemed to be agreeing with him. 

“Let me guess, you were thinking of using the ‘first blood’ perk as well?”

“N-no!” 

“Or maybe you’re a spy for Monokuma…”

“...” At this point, Kaede had given up on defending herself. Kokichi had all her classmates wrapped around his finger and his claims, while false, were reasonable. As such, the girl hung her head in shame. 

 

“Damn, ya’ll are sheltered as fuck.” Her head shooting upwards, the girl glanced at Shuichi who was giving everyone else a disappointed glance. 

“Huh, what do you mean?” Himiko asked, giving him a pouty face. 

“We all get trapped in a school, a school filled with high tech machines and an underground obstacle course. Said school is runned by some sort of evil genius who’s obviously spent years planning for this moment. You really think their avatar is going to go down in such a pathetic fashion? The killing game isn’t over, the event was scripted so that you could get your hopes up. Remember the manhole?”

“...I hate it when he’s right,” Tenko groaned under her breath as she stared at the boy, noticing that he gently nudged Miu.

“See? Tenko knows what’s up, and she’d rather die than agree with me. Anyways, I’m going to go. Hopefully the rest of you will grow some brain cells while I’m gone.”

With that, Shuichi began strolling out of the cafeteria. Seeing her friend leave, Miu began following him.

“See ya later losers.”

“...” Tenko watched them leave with curiosity. Waiting until everyone else left, the martial artist then began looking for them, knowing that Shuichi was probably up to no good.

0000

Having left the cafeteria, Shuichi and Miu immediately made their way towards the library. “Damn, this place is dusty.”

“We should get the maid down here,” Miu playfully suggested before getting serious. “So why’d you bring me here? Let me guess, you found something?”

“Yep.” Smiling, Shuichi began moving a bookshelf located at the back of the library, revealing that behind it was a secret door. “And Rantaro said there were no secret doors…”

Miu’s eyes began to light up as it seemed there was a way she could escape this place. “You find where it leads?” 

“Absolutely not,” Shuichi admitted, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. He then pointed to a card reader. “I can’t get into the damn thing.”

Looking at the card reader, Miu scoffed. “I can have this opened by tomorrow. You’re so damn lucky that you have the gorgeous girl genius is on your side.”

“That’d be pretty cool, but how would you do it?” Shuichi asked her. “You probably don’t even have any of the necessary stuff to make something that could open the freaking door.”

“Well, I will when my lab’s open.”

“Lab?” Shuichi asked. This was the first he’s heard about such a thing.

“Wow, for real? How’d you miss that, ‘ace detective?’ Outside the school, there’s a big fucking building under construction. I tried breaking in, but Monofucker said I can’t go in until the shit’s finished being built. He also said it would be my personal lab, filled with useful crap relating to my talent. He said others had one as well…”

“I can’t believe I missed that,” Shuichi muttered under his breath, ashamed of himself. He was the ultimate detective, he should have done a better job at searching the school. “Well, balls.”

“So, ya got a master plan or something?”

Shuichi stopped sulking, standing as confidently as ever. “You bet your D-cup boobs I do! This door is obviously important to the mastermind, so I want to catch them using it. To do so, I want to install some cameras around the place, the ones that take pictures when they detect movement. Think you can build some of those once your lab opens?”

“You seem to love giving me the easiest shit to do,” Miu teasingly grumbled. “Once that dump opens up, I’ll have them made in a few hours. I don’t even have to start from scratch. The storage has some of those crappy cameras that use film. You know, the ones you give kids so they don’t break anything valuable?”

“Sweet! Just remember, don’t tell anyone we’re doing this. We don’t want to waste our element of surprise now, don’t we?”

“Tch, you act like I’ve told anyone about any of the shit you do.”

“Thanks Miu, you’re a fucking angel.”

“Hell yeah I am. Have you seen these looks, or have you been paying too much attention to that Akamatsu whore?”

Shuichi teasingly smirked at her “Jealousy isn’t an attractive trait you know. Akamatsu’s a sweetheart, but you’re my best friend. I trust you with my life.”

“You better, cuz I trust you with my life as well…”

Little did they know they had a little spy watching over them...

0000

Taking a few minutes to review and further develop their plan to catch the mastermind using the door, the two then dispersed. Wasting no time, the ultimate inventor went straight towards the cafeteria, eager to grab something to eat. She wasn’t one of those weirdos who ate early like her best friend and the rest of their classmates. No, she was a proper woman, choosing to skip breakfast and lunch in favor of the far superior brunch. That way, she knew she’d have enough energy to last her until dinner. 

Opening the fridge, Miu began digging through it, wanting something good to eat. Unfortunately, there was nothing in the thing that would satisfy her. “Fuck! There’s only vegan crap in here…”

“Try the other fridge.”

“Huh?” Looking back, the inventor noticed Tenko had entered the cafeteria. 

“There’s a vegan fridge and a meat fridge. Monokuma said its to avoid lawsuits.”

“...I knew that.” Quickly, Miu opened the second fridge and grabbed all the stuff she wanted. Sitting down, Miu began to eat up, Tenko joining her a second later with her own food. 

“...So, how’s it going?” Tenko asked the inventor. The relationship between the two was awkward to say the least. They used to be really close, but after she had discovered what Shuichi was doing, the martial artist ended up finding their relationship weakening, for Miu supported the boy. Either way, the two still talk and stuff, they’re just not as inseparable as they once were. 

“...Alright I guess, considering we’re fucking stuck here and all.”

“Um, that’s good.” Letting out a fake cough, Tenko began to get to the point. “I saw you and Shuichi at the library earlier. I heard everything.”

“Let me guess, you’re going to tell everyone aren’t you?” The inventor stated, not liking where this was going. 

“No.”

“The fuck?”

“As much as I hate Shuichi, I know he cares for us,” Tenko admitted. “And what he has planned seems like a decent idea. But, I still want you to be careful. Bail on him if you have to, God knows he’d do the same.”

“Sorry, but that’s a lie,” Miu told her. “He isn’t like that.”

“How can you be so sure? He’s a murderer and a dude, but mostly a murderer, and all murderers have one thing in common, they’re willing to do anything to flee from trouble.

Miu shook her head in disagreement, not seeing her best friend in that light. “He’s not the person you seem to think he is. He does what he does because the police and government are too fucking greedy to do what’s right.”

“...I don’t want to have this conversation,” Tenko grumbled before standing up. “It’ll just lead to us fighting. Just remember what I said.”

Giving Miu a small wave, Tenko began to leave the girl to her food.

“Fuck! This stuff’s expired!”

0000

Ryoma sighed as he casually walked around the school, hoping to run into somebody willing to get the ‘First Blood Perk.’ To him, he seemed more useful dead than he was alive for his death would give somebody the chance to achieve freedom. Everyone else had so much to live for, but him? Only death awaited him. Well, might as well get it over with.

“HOSHI! Where the hell are you?”

“Hm?” What could somebody want with him. Eh, might as well see what they want. 

Walking towards the source of the voice, he noticed Shuichi was looking under some desks as he shouted his name.

“...What do you want?” The ex-tennis player asked, causing Shuichi to notice him.

“There you are,” Shuichi said. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you dude.”

“I can see that. But why?”

Shuichi shrugged. “I wanna hang out with you.”

“...” Ryoma stood silent, eyeing the detective. “You’re far too casual for your own good.”

“Meh, I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

“...Whatever. Why do you even want to hang out with someone like me anyways? Let me guess, you want to know how I took down the mafia right?”

“Hey, I might act stupid, but I know not to ask about such sensitive details until we get closer,” Shuichi told him. “Though I admit, I really hope you tell me how an entire gang was wiped out by one kid.”

“Hmph. You’re a detective, aren’t you? You should know the answer.”

“Ok, I know you used your tennis skills and an iron ball, but how did you not get yourself killed? Hell, how did you even hit that heavy ass thing with just a racket?”

“...Maybe I’ll tell you in the future.”

“Sweet!”

“...Anything else you want from me?”

Shuichi feigned being hurt. “Wow, you’re really trying to kick me out already?” Noticing Ryoma wasn’t being affected by the act, Shuichi returned to his normal self. “Actually, there is something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“What?”

Gone was the confidently happy face the detective once wore, a serious one taking its place. “I wanna continue our previous conversation.”

“The one where you said that killing someone doesn’t make you a murderer? I see no need to continue such a topic.”

“But I do,” Shuichi declared. “It’s easy to tell you see yourself as nothing but a monster, but are you really? You didn’t hurt anyone. All you did was remove some scum from the Earth.”

“It’s not my job to do that though,” Ryoma huffed. “I should’ve left that to the professionals.”

“Professionals? As in the police? You really think they would’ve done anything? The fuckers accept bribes from mafias all the time. They wouldn’t have done shit.”

“Hmph, you sound like me when I chose to kill them…” Ryoma remarked. 

“Well, it’s nice to know you’re sane.”

“Sane? I don’t think anyone’s ever called me that. Heh, I’m far from that. No sane person would ever do what I did. It’s the reason I killed after all.” Shuichi opened his mouth, only for Ryoma to interrupt him. “Then again, to a fellow murderer, I would seem sane.”

Shuichi’s eyes widened at hearing this, some fear consuming him. “H-how did you-”

“No one would casually walk up to a killer and tell them what they did was right, unless they are one themselves. I don’t know the specifics, but I can tell you high a high body count.”

“...So, what are you going to do now?” Shuichi asked. He was actually a bit scared. Someone other than Miu and Tenko knows he’s killed, and he wasn’t sure if Ryoma was going to tell everyone else.

“Nothing. You killed bad people, there’s no reason for me to believe you pose a threat to our classmates. If you don’t believe me, you can kill me. The ‘First Blood Perk’ will be yours.”

“Hell no, I don’t kill the good guys. I only kill scumbags and as far as I can tell, everyone here is innocent. Also, there are some people I care about here, people I’d give me life to protect.”

“So you have a reason to live,” Ryoma stated, smirking a second later. “That’s good. If you really want to protect them, then you should not waste anymore time with someone like me. Who knows how much I’ll corrupt you if you do.”

Giving the detective a small nod, Ryoma began walking away, leaving Shuichi to his thoughts.

‘Damn, now I’m even more curious about that guy.’


End file.
